Valeria and the Lonesome Road
by Jumpman87
Summary: Valeria must stand against the tide of history at the edge of the world. Rated T for violence, language, and some adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

"Look at you." Dean Domino sneered, a leer twisting his decaying lips. "Pretty as a picture."

Vera screamed in hatred and leaped at the ghoul who vanished in a swirl of violet mist. Bewildered, her mind tumbling with jagged images like a kaleidoscope, Vera crouched snarling like a beast as she peered into the pulsing violet light surrounding her.

"It's all for you Vera." Said Sinclair's voice from behind her. Vera whirled to see Sinclair appear out of the mist, a sad smile on his thin face. "I have the cure right here..." He began to reach behind him when Vera shrieked and hurled herself forward. Sinclair vanished as Dean had, leaving Vera again alone in the pulsing mist.

"You made me into this...thing!" Vera screamed into the void. "Sinclair! Dean! You didn't love me! You never did!"

"As I recall, you were the one who spurned me...Vera."

"House!" Vera hissed as she turned and looked up at the mustachioed lord of New Vegas, his arms folded as he raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"I didn't ask for much..." House said as Vera tensed to pounce. "We didn't even need to...touch each other." His face twisted into a sneer of disgust as Vera snarled. "But you wanted the dross of Hollywood and now look at you."

"Yes, look at you." Domino added as he appeared beside House, his arms also folded and a sneer on his lips.

"Look at what you've become." Sinclair said as he appeared to flank House.

"Take a good long look...Vera." The three men said in unison as their outlines began to blur.

"You're dead!" Vera shrieked. "Leave me alone!"

"You should know." Dean replied, although their images were now blurred as if seen through violet smoked glass. "After all, you killed me."

"And me." Sinclair added. "After all I tried to do for you."

"I didn't kill you!" Vera shrieked as she recoiled from the three figures, their identical thin mustaches the only feature visible on their distorted faces.

"But you did." The three figures chimed in unison. "You've tried so hard to forget the night the bombs fell, but you can't deny it."

"I don't remember anything!" Vera cried as she shook her head furiously in denial. "Just darkness, hunger, and...blood." Vera's eyes widened as the whirling fragments of her memory coalesced into the image of Sinclair's gory corpse sprawled on the steel floor of the Vault beneath the Sierra Madre, his throat torn open and his staring eyes wide with horror.

"No!" Vera screamed as she covered her head and collapsed into fetal position.

"You can't hide from what you've done Vera." The three figures said as they once again blurred into mist.

"How many have you killed trying to kill me?" Suddenly the three figures solidified into one and it was House who stood before her. However it was House wearing Dean Domino's sunglasses and Sinclair's tan pullover sweater.

"You can't kill me Vera." House scoffed. "Sinclair, Dean and I are all sides of the same soul. You can't eradicate me anymore than you can blot out the evil staining your soul."

"I'm not evil" Vera screamed as she looked up wild-eyed at her tormentor. "I didn't ask to become this!"

"But you embraced it rather wholeheartedly, didn't you?" House said with a mocking smile. "You weren't a blood crazed beast all the time Vera. What did you do when you awoke and found yourself covered with blood? You could have ended it all at any time Vera, but you didn't. Why not?"

"The rage..." Vera muttered as she remembered the blood red haze that would fall over her vision, blotting out all conscious thought.

"The rage." House agreed with a nod. "All directed at the ones you blame for turning you into a deranged monster."

"Die!" Vera screamed as she again lunged at House, but her clawed hands found only mist. Derisive laughter filled the air, echoing again and again until it seemed a multitude was mocking her. Vera clapped her hands to her head and screamed as she tried to drown the laughter out but it continued to grow in volume as it beat her to her knees. And then, the purple void shattered like glass and Vera was plunged into blackness.

After a timeless moment in the void, Vera suddenly became conscious of the sound of the wind as it hissed across sand. She was immediately aware that she was naked and lying on packed dirt, her hands and feet tightly bound behind her. The wind was cold where it blew across her body, telling her that it was nightfall. She could smell a fire and felt its heat on her back so she knew she was at a campsite. She also knew she was a prisoner, although how she had been captured Vera had no recollection.

"The Datura didn't kill you." A deep voice rumbled from beyond the fire. "The Visions of the Datura Root are strong, too strong for most, but you saw, and survived."

Vera's eyes flew open and with a snarl rolled to her knees, facing the one who spoke through the flames. A man in a tattered jacket sat cross-legged on a partly buried timber. He was powerfully built with a dark face as hard as if carved from granite, framed by thick braids of black hair. His eyes glittered in the firelight as he met her gaze impassively and made no move toward the sub-machine gun lying beside him. Vera tested her bonds and found them secure. For now she was this stranger's prisoner and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I tracked you for days." The man said, as Vera glared at him. "Others said a beast was stalking the hills, a creature no one could capture or kill. I heard the tales, got curious and went looking."

Vera shook her head as she listened to the stranger's odd speech. Her memories were a confused muddle of blood and darkness, but now she felt a clarity she hadn't experienced for years. The rage was now an echo of its usual fury, her craving for blood quiet. Marveling at the unaccustomed stillness in her mind, Vera looked warily at the dark-faced man and focused on his words.

"I read the signs you left, the marks in your victims and knew I wasn't following a man or beast." The man continued to sit immobile as the wind whipped the flames of the fire. Only his lips moved as he continued to speak, his eyes staring unblinking into Vera's

"Armed, unarmed didn't matter. You killed all you found, consumed some, left others. Not driven by cruelty, but necessity. I learned your pattern, used it to trap you."

Vera growled as she jerked her eyes from the stranger's gaze. She remembered a shadow standing above her, a flash like a bolt of lightning, then nothing but darkness.

"When I saw you, I knew what I already suspected." The stranger rumbled as Vera looked up from the fire and again found her gaze held by his dark eyes. "History had come to claim me once again. Thought I was free of it when Kaiser took the Mojave. Didn't need to do anything but watch while the Bull slowly died. But someone new arrived, a stranger from the East. A woman, changed by the war drove the Bull back across the Dam. Said to have white hair and eyes."

Vera started at the stranger's description, her eyes widening at another memory of a face that looked like hers surrounded by flames.

"The stranger's name was Valeria." The man said and Vera hissed with recognition.

"Valeria!" She exclaimed and the man nodded.

"Thought you were her at first, but the collar you wear shares history with the Legion and the Brotherhood of Steel."

"The...collar?" Vera twisted her neck, feeling the cold steel of the device she had worn around her neck so long she had almost forgotten it. At the mention of the Brotherhood another face leaped into her mind. A bearded old man, his lips twisted with disdain while his eyes burned with the fires of fanaticism.

"Elijah!" Vera growled. "He put the collar on me!"

"Would have ended you." The stranger said with a nod. "But I needed to know your history more. Too many questions needing answers."

"What did you do to me?" Vera snarled as the huge muscles of her shoulders and back bulged and strained as she tested the heavy cords binding her.

"Used medicine of my tribe, the Twisted Hairs to open your eyes to the spirit world." The man said as he leaned toward the fire, his own eyes shadowed and dark. The Datura Root showed you visions while Bitter Drink stilled your mind. The Twisted Hairs would use them to calm fear and pain before battle."

"So you caught me." Vera sighed as she relaxed her arms. "What are you going to do with me?"

"Finish what I started." Was his response. "You spoke during your visions, shared your hate of Dean, Sinclair...and House."

"They turned me into this...thing!" Vera snarled. "Dean took me from my home and perverted my dreams until all I had left was him! He took my name and made me into 'Vera'!"

The stranger sat silent as Vera's rage mounted as she bared her fangs in a snarl of rage.

"House wanted me to be his doll, to be put on display at his whim! When I left him he made me pay by blacklisting me! When Dean took me to Sinclair I had no choice but to go with him!"

"Always choices." The stranger rumbled. "Just not always easy ones."

"I was dying!" Vera hissed. "Dean tried to keep it from me, but I knew. So did Sinclair, although I never told him."

"Love and hate are close." The stranger interrupted. "I hear both when you speak of Sinclair. How did he earn your hate?"

"He didn't let me die." Vera whispered as tears began to fill her eyes. "I didn't ask him to try to save me, he just couldn't...let go."

"It is the way of history to offer life or death before taking them away and leaving us lost." The man rumbled as he stared into the flames. "All you can do is find purpose, so the why of your being is known to you."

"Why?" Vera whispered in confusion.

"I followed your pattern." The man answered. "Always in sight of the tower, drawn to it like a moth to flame. It is the focus of your rage. It is what drew you here and what keeps you alive."

"House!" Vera snarled as her rage returned.

"You remember his tower from the what was." The stranger said as he slowly rose to his feet. "House still lives within it. Offering greed as the answer to the world's problems. An empty promise luring all to its lights, where they are drained of everything and cast aside."

The man pulled out heavy curved knife from behind his back and held it before Vera's snarling face.

"I offer you a chance to end House and change history. Agree, and I will free you. Refuse, and I will end you."

Vera glared up into the stranger's face and somehow knew that he wasn't making an empty threat. He had taken her once, he would do it again but this time for good. Vera lowered her gaze as her mind seethed with rage at her helplessness. She hated the stranger for rendering her helpless, just like all the others, but as much as she hated him she realized she hated House more. If she died now, then she was just another victim, consumed long ago by the greed of powerful men. She had made two of them pay for what they had done to her, now it was House's turn. She looked up at the stranger and smiled sweetly, baring her fangs as she did so.

"Agreed Mr...?" Vera raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Ulysses." Was the reply. "Not my first name any more than Vera's yours, but it is what I have chosen to be called."

"Well Ulysses." Vera said cheerfully. "Let's make history!"

Ulysses cut the ropes binding Vera's ankles with a twist of his razor sharp blade, then did the same with her arms. He stepped back as Vera climbed to her feet and looked down at him with a cruel smile. Ulysses watched Vera for a moment, then sheathed his knife with one quick motion.

While Vera had been drugged Ulysses had used a conditioning technique long practiced by his people to prepare their warriors, or to break their enemies. Using suggestion and drugs, Ulysses had channeled Vera's rage toward one of the names she had voiced in her fevered ranting. Using his name as a trigger, he activated a personality he created for the deranged mutant from the fragments he had gleaned from her. For now the madwoman was lucid and stable, and Ulysses was confident his conditioning would hold until she had served his purpose. After years of hiding from destiny, it was time to answer its call and change the world.

And Vera would be the key.


	2. Chapter 2

The afternoon sun blazed down on the 188 Slop N' Shop, so named for its location at the intersection of pre-war highways 93 and 95. The trading post was a cluster of canvas tents and shacks, and had remained in business even through the reign of the Legion. Traffic from the NCR was on the rise, but this day there were only two travelers sitting at one of the sun-bleached wooden picnic tables.

"Here we are at the 188 and you still haven't asked where we're going." Veronica quipped as she sipped lukewarm water from an old nuka-cola bottle. Water was precious in the Mojave, non-radiated water even more so, so Veronica was taking her time with her purchase.

"I knew you would tell me eventually." Valeria replied with a smile as she set down her Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle. Although vulnerable to large doses of radiation, for the most part Valeria was unaffected by it. Up to a point her mutant metabolism was even stimulated by it, increasing her already considerable healing abilities. She also was immune to poisons and disease, so she would usually order the much cheaper contaminated water, which sold in different bottles at the 188.

"I can't believe how trusting you are sometimes." Veronica said shaking her head, a smile pulling the scars on her mouth. The young woman wore a gray headscarf covering her dark brown hair and hiding a long scar across her throat. Veronica was a very pretty young woman with brown eyes that sparkled with humor and intelligence, evident even through the heavy scars around her mouth and across her forehead.

"I trust you." Valeria replied with a tight-lipped smile, a habit she had adopted to hide her long canines which many found unsettling. Valeria's startling appearance clearly showed her to be a mutant. She was huge, looming head and shoulders over Veronica. She also was inhumanly muscular, her huge limbs displayed to full effect by the miniscule metal armor that she always wore. Like Veronica, Valeria's face was very pretty, perhaps even beautiful except for her fangs, thickly corded neck, and stark white hair and eyes. Her hands were also huge, perfectly suited for the haft of the heavy steel hammer she wore on her back, with long black nails almost resembling talons. Her eyes also gleamed with intelligence, but where Veronica's irrepressible humor shone through, Valeria's were shadowed by deep sadness.

"Give what we've been through, maybe you shouldn't." Veronica replied with a smirk before blinking as a gust of wind-swept a cloud of grit over them from the dry lake bed below.

"I know you haven't been happy in New Vegas." Valeria said seriously as she looked down at her friend. "It was only a matter of time before we left."

"I know we had a good thing going." Veronica admitted with a sigh. "And maybe you won't understand, but I want to make a difference. I'm all that's left of the Brotherhood in the Mojave, and all I'm doing is odd jobs and tech salvage."

Valeria didn't reply, waiting quietly with concerned eyes. Veronica appreciated that about her big friend. She enjoyed talking, even after her voice had been surgically altered in their last adventure, giving her the same vocal cords as Valeria. Fortunately, Valeria's size and larger lung capacity made her voice naturally deeper, so few noticed any similarity. Veronica would often voice her concerns and thoughts while Valeria listened attentively, only offering comments when asked.

"The Brotherhood is one of the last bastions of tech in the world, unless you count the Enclave." Veronica continued. "We're just so secretive and bound by the Codex that we're becoming an urban legend. I want the Brotherhood of Steel's legacy to be more than just the NCR's boogeymen, even if I have to do it by myself."

"Where do you plan to start?" Valeria asked as she took another drink of water. She never said anything to Veronica, but she had enjoyed the relative peace of the past few months. Valeria had continued to work as a bouncer for the Atomic Wrangler, a job she was extremely effective at. It was very rare that a patron was drunk enough to pick a fight with her. However the pay, although steady, was not large, and Valeria's particular needs were a constant drain on their resources. Whether by accident of dark design, Valeria metabolism required that she consume human flesh to live. She could deny her ghoulish craving for a time, but eventually the hunger would overtake her and she dreaded what happened next. Valeria had found that eating raw animal flesh supplemented by human blood from medical Bloodpacks was an effective substitute, but neither were cheap or easy to acquire in New Vegas.

"I can't make my mark in New Vegas." Veronica admitted as she shook her head. "House's Securitrons practically has the Strip in lock-down, and after the stand at the Old Mormon Fort the King has had to turn away applicants in Freeside."

Valeria nodded in agreement as she remembered the Freeside King's tribal leader, wearing the trappings of the long dead entertainer who was his namesake. The King's passion for freedom was so great, he was willing to make a doomed stand against the full might of the Legion led by Legate Lanius, the infamous "Monster of the East". The King survived, due to the intervention of Valeria and House's Securitrons, but his legend grew tremendously and he was now the uncontested ruler of Freeside, a position House allowed because he cared little for matters outside the gates to the Strip.

"So you want to help the towns not patrolled by House?" Valeria asked as she placed her empty bottle at the edge of the table.

Veronica opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the shrill sound of a whistle, audible even over the moan of the wind.

"That must be Calhoun's train." Veronica said as both women looked to the south toward the remains of Boulder city. "I can't believe he was able to scavenge enough parts to get that wreck working." Veronica shook her head ruefully. "Just another sign of how the world is passing the Brotherhood by."

"That whistle means the work crews are done for the day." Said Michelle, the daytime proprietor of the Slop n' Shop as she approached the table to take their empty bottles. "Things are going to get busy soon."

"What's Calhoun doing?" Veronica asked the woman who appeared older than she was from years in the harsh Mojave sun.

"Pulling up the rails." Michelle replied as she took their empty bottles. "Boulder city's a ruin, so there's not much reason to have a line heading that way. I guess Calhoun plans to repair the rails running past Novac."

At the mention of Novac, Veronica visibly flinched. Something dark and terrible had happened to the young woman when it fell to the Legion. Veronica never spoke about it, and Valeria respected her silence, although Veronica's shyness about revealing her hair or body spoke volumes. Michelle hardly glanced at Veronica, although her eyes flashed over Valeria's massive body a few times as she retrieved the bottles and strode away, the tools hanging from her heavy trader's jacket clanking and rattling. Veronica watched Michelle leave before sighing and shaking her head.

"That's another thing." She said as she looked up a Valeria with a half-smile. "Everywhere we go, everybody remembers you but I'm just that girl who's name nobody can recall."

"I'm sorry Ronnie." Valeria replied crestfallen, eliciting a snort from the young woman.

"Quit doing that Val." Veronica said with a smile. "You're a seven-foot mountain of muscle with ridiculously big boobs. I'm lucky anyone remembers me at all!"

Valeria flushed, as she always did when her friend poked fun at her. She knew all too well how bizarre, even frightening her appearance was, and she was still self-conscious about it despite her meager attire.

Veronica grinned at her friends discomfort, then began to speak before Valeria could think of a reply.

"I want to go back to Helios One."

"Why?" Valeria asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You said you searched it after it was destroyed."

"Not exactly." Veronica replied as she looked down at the peeling green paint of the table. "The NCR was still camped around the ruins, so the best I could do was go to a shack nearby where Elijah would leave notes on an old terminal for me. That was how I knew he'd survived."

"What about the bunker at Hidden Valley?" Valeria asked as she recalled the refuge Veronica had led her to when she first entered the Mojave.

"I didn't know that existed at first." Veronica admitted. "Elijah set that up without telling anyone else in our chapter. It took me awhile to find it based on some clues he left in his last message."

"What are you hoping to find?" Valeria asked with a puzzled frown.

"I don't know." Veronica said with a shrug as she continued to look down at the table. "Maybe nothing, but it's all that's left of the Brotherhood in the Mojave. The NCR didn't put a large garrison there, so I doubt they looked very hard, and I know the Legion wasn't interested. But there is a small problem..."

"What?" Valeria asked quietly as Veronica's scarred mouth firmed into a line.

"I head that House has some Securitrons guarding it." Veronica admitted, raising her eyes to meet Valeria's. "It could be House's paranoia about the Brotherhood, or it could be there's something there he doesn't want anyone messing with. Either way I have to know."

"Are you sure Ronnie?" Valeria asked as she stared intently into her friend's eyes.

"I'm sure Val." Ronnie replied with her jaw firming with resolve. "It's all I have left of my family, I need to find whats there."

"All right Ronnie." Valeria finally said with a sigh. "I'll help you."

"Thanks Val." Veronica said with a grin. "You're the greatest!" Then Veronica glanced past Valeria's shoulder and squinted against the strengthening wind.

"Those must be the out-of-town mercs Calhoun hired ."

Valeria turned to see what Veronica was looking at and froze when she saw what was walking up the hill. It was common knowledge that House forbid any concentration of NCR forces larger than a company within ten square miles of each other. However there was an exception regarding private security forces as long as it was proven that they had no ties to the NCR military. Valeria had heard Calhoun had made a contract with such a company, but had heard no other details before leaving town with Veronica. Now she saw a group of four heavily armed men striding up the crumbling highway toward the Slop N' Shop, and as she saw the white claw emblazoned on their black combat armor, her eyes went wide with shock.

"Talon Company!" Valeria exclaimed in a hoarse whisper.

"Who?" Veronica asked in confusion as she saw the look of shock on her huge friend's face.

"We have to go...Now!" Valeria exclaimed as she rose to her feet. Veronica was confused, but knew better than to question Valeria's sudden urgency and stood. It was clear Valeria had recognized the black armored mercenaries, and as Veronica got to her feet she saw the leader of the mercs stop and stare in astonishment, before reaching for the rifle slung over his shoulder with a curse.

That was all Veronica needed to whirl and bolt for the lake below. Suddenly blasts of green fire blazed about her as she desperately tried to run down the slope, knowing the lake bed's obscuring clouds of blowing dust were too far. Then suddenly she was jerked from the ground in Valeria's powerful arms as the giant woman hurtled into the blowing silt below. Veronica felt Valeria stumble and for a sickening moment thought she was going to fall. Valeria reeled and then regained her footing before leaping forward again as bursts of plasma seared the air around them. Knowing their lives depended on Valeria's speed, Veronica closed her eyes and tried not to move as Valeria ran through a cloud of blowing sand.

Valeria kept running even when Veronica realized all she could hear was the hiss of windblown sand, and the big woman's labored breathing. Then the big woman stumbled again and there was a chaotic jumble of motion as Valeria twisted about and slammed into the ground, shielding Veronica from the rocky ground with her own body.

"Damn it Val!" Veronica swore as she untangled herself from her friend's grasp. Valeria's chest shuddered as she tried to breathe, and Veronica suddenly became aware of the odor of charred flesh.

"I...think I...lost...them." Valeria managed to gasp before the pain of the wounds seared into her back overcame her and the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun burned a sullen red through a haze of wind-borne dust as Ulysses sat upon the cliffs overlooking the blasted landscape of the divide, keeping a lonely vigil for any sign of Vera's return. The canyons stretched before him had not been created by nature, but were torn into the earth by man's violence. Ruins were scattered about the canyons, their smashed remains covering the floors of the rifts, or leaning precariously over the cliffs as they slowly slid to their destruction. Through the maze of devastation the wind moaned and howled incessantly, blasting the crumbling stone and steel with clouds of ash, grit and powdered glass. Invisible fires also burned in the divide, but Ulysses was spared the ravages of radiation as he crouched on a granite outcrop hundreds of feet above the canyon floor. Above his shoulder, a battered steel sphere floated, antennas protruding from it like quills.

Days had passed since Ulysses had led Vera to the narrow pass through the mountains surrounding the Divide. Vera's huge body was covered by a cloak of coarse fabric, with a hood concealing her stark white hair. They had traveled by night to avoid being detected by any of House's patrols as Ulysses led Vera to the mountains surrounding the Mojave. They had spoken little as Ulysses maintained a stoic silence that didn't invite questions or conversation. Vera was still bound by his conditioning, but the seething fury in the woman's mind made her petulant and sullen. Finally they climbed a trail pressed in by looming rock walls with the rusting remnants of pre war structures strewn in their path, or wedged between the cliffs like crude bridges. The sky had begun to darken with clouds of wind-borne dust when one of the cliffs suddenly dropped away revealing a vast valley, the floor of which was crossed with jagged canyons. Vera stared in awe at the sight. The valley looked like it had been ripped in the earth, with remnants of roads and buildings dotting the valley floor and protruding from the sheer cliffs looming above them.

Suddenly there was a series of electronic beeps and a steel sphere floated out of the gathering murk and stopped in front of Ulysses. Ulysses looked at the floating device, his face unreadable, and then turned slightly to present the ancient United States flag sewn on his jacket. The robot bobbed and beeped in a fashion that sounded oddly affirmative, then floated behind Ulysses and waited.

"What is that?" Vera asked as curiosity finally overcame her sullen silence.

"Machine of the old world." Was the reply as Ulysses began to approach the jagged edge of the cliff. "Programmed to respond to the symbol of Old America."

Vera watched as the robot floated after Ulysses, and then with a frown pulled her cloak tighter under her chin and strode after him.

Ulysses finally stopped at a rocky overlook and stared down into the devastation with his arms crossed, the robot hovering just behind his shoulder.

"What is this place?" Vera asked as she stood next to Ulysses after shooting a suspicious glance at the robot.

"The Divide." Ulysses replied without turning. "Ghosts of the old world haunt this place. Symbols of the what was cover its bones, and giants sleep in the earth."

"Was this place destroyed by the war?" Vera asked as she stepped beside him and looked down into the murky haze.

"Not the great war." Ulysses replied, standing as still as a statue. "That war made the Divide sleep. What you see came from the war between the Bull and the Two-Headed Bear."

Vera raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question, but Ulysses didn't elaborate. Despite her centuries of existence, Vera had had little contact with the world beyond the Sierra Madre, and although her mind was clearer than it had been in years, her memory was still clouded and filled with closed doors that she refused to open.

"To end House, you must enter the Divide." Ulysses rumbled, his words a firm declaration of fact.

"Why?" Vera demanded as she scowled in growing irritation. The red haze of fury that lurked at the edges of her consciousness was growing, and her lips curled unconsciously into a snarl.

"The Bear put its claws into the Divide." Ulysses explained, ignoring Vera's impatience. "Sent soldiers to secure a route to the Mojave. The Bull couldn't allow it, and replied with Caesar's own to deny the Bear."

"So these...soldiers are still down there?" Vera snapped in disbelief as she stared down into the churning clouds of dust.

"What remains below is no longer of the Bull or the Bear." Ulysses replied calmly. "Those who survived the earthquakes were seared by radiation, their skin flayed by wind and storm and left screaming for a death that never came."

"They can't die?" Vera asked as her own dark wish for oblivion suddenly washed over her. Ulysses finally looked up, turning to lock eyes with Vera.

"What remains in those canyons is driven by hate, healed by atomic fire. Hard to kill, not unkillable. They prey on all who enter the Divide, no matter the flag they carry."

Vera could no longer stare into Ulysses' cold eyes and jerked her gaze away with a snarl.

"What do you want me to do?" She finally growled.

"What lives in the Divide is neither man nor beast." Ulysses replied as he looked back into the canyon. There is power there, but not focused. You must channel the "Marked Men's" hate. Give them direction and purpose."

"Why don't you do it then?" Vera sneered.

"I'm not of their kind." Ulysses said as he raised his eyes toward the horizon. "They can see it in my face, hear it in my voice, smell it perhaps. They attack any who are not of their tribe."

"And you think I'll succeed where you would fail?" Vera sneered as she folded her arms in defiance.

"You are marked by the what was." Ulysses replied as he turned to look up into Vera's face. "Old world science has given you power, made you different. You might turn the Marked Men into a weapon. Only with their power and hate could you hope to defeat House and his army of machines."

"And if I can't?" Vera growled.

"Then they will torture you to death, eat your flesh, and wear your skin." Ulysses said with a shrug. "If you're lucky."

"And if I'm not?" Vera asked as she raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"They will make you one of them." Was the reply as Ulysses sat down on the edge of the precipice. "Your choice now. The road ends here."

Vera stared silently at the man who had led her to the edge of the abyss, her face twisting with conflicting emotions. Finally she began to laugh mirthlessly causing Ulysses to look up at her.

"All right." Vera finally declared, her eyes gleaming with wild abandon. "I'll do it!" With that she flung off her cloak, revealing her massive body, clothed only in the dull steel collar still fastened about her neck.

"At the end of the path is the door to a silo." Ulysses said as he looked away dismissively. "The tunnels will lead you to Hopeville. There you will find the Marked Men."

Vera stood for a moment staring down at Ulysses with a strange smile before turning and languidly striding into the dusty haze. Ulysses turned to watch as Vera vanished into the twilight haze. He hadn't been sure his conditioning would hold, but it seemed the focus he had given the mad woman was still in effect. Vera was a chaotic mix of fear, hatred, and self-loathing verging on nihilism. Ulysses used the Datura visions to make rage into Vera's focus, but her desire for oblivion still made her wildly unpredictable. At the core of her rage was the primal need to survive at all costs, and it was apparently that drive that had sustained her for so many years. That aspect of Vera was what Ulysses needed to further his own plans, which now hinged on whether she succeeded in her mission. If she failed, his road ended on the cliffs overlooking the Divide. With nothing else to be done, Ulysses waited day after day as the ancient robot followed him like a hound.

Night was falling, and Ulysses looked up at the unusually clear sky to see the stars blazing above him. The night sky had been his guide for years as he had served as one of Caesar's Frumentarius. He had journeyed far at the behest of the Legion, from the wilds of Utah to the banks of the Colorado where he was the first of the Legion to see Hoover Dam. He had served with distinction the will of Caesar, despite the destruction of his former tribe the Twisted Hairs, but what he saw in the Divide caused him to abandon the Legion. Ulysses' mouth thinned into a hard line as history came back to him, as it always did no matter how hard he tried to forget it. It was what he saw in Hopeville, before the weapons buried below tore the earth apart, that still haunted him. It was Hopeville that made him sew the remnants of an old world flag on his jacket, a symbol with more meaning then either the gold bull or the two-headed bear.

Then a distant clanging, audible over the moan of the wind jerked him back from memory and into the present. The sound meant only one thing: the door to the silo was opening! Ulysses stood and crossed his arms as he turned to face what would be coming up the trail. He could reach his sub-machine gun in a second, and he had no doubt the robot would fight at his side, loyal to the symbol he carried. However, he doubted either would make a difference. As far as he knew, he was the only one to enter the Divide and return. The soldiers sent by the NCR and Caesar were too ignorant of the dangers, to confident to walk silently. All were consumed by the fury of the Divide, either destroyed by it, or becoming one with it. Whether it was Vera or not, the Divide had sent something back.

Soon Ulysses saw a towering figure approaching out of the darkness, its stark white hair shining in the gloom. Vera had returned clothed in metal and leather scraps adorned with spikes. She strode with the sinuous power and confidence of a Deathclaw, fearless because there was nothing to fear. Her eyes shone with fierce exultation matched by the sneer on her blood-red lips that exposed her fangs. The fragmented brainwashed remnant Ulysses had sent into the Divide had returned forged into something new, something powerful, terrible...

...And not alone.

Shapes moved behind Vera, slowly materializing out of the darkness. They were men, but blood-red from exposed muscles, their bodies covered by scraps of armor held together by strips of leather-covered with spikes and scalps. Their nose less faces were twisted into expressions of rage, their yellow teeth bared in bestial snarls. All of them were armed, some with blades of hammered steel, some with heavy industrial saws and torches, others with rifles their cores pulsing green with lethal energy. Rage washed over Ulysses like a wave, the Marked Men's hate pulsing from them like radiation. Vera stopped before Ulysses, who stood motionless before her his eyes meeting her fevered gaze calmly as the Marked Men shifted and growled behind her.

"It took some...convincing." Vera said with a glittering smile. "But here they are!" She seemed almost flippant, but the fire burning in her eyes spoke of torment, and lurking in the depths Ulysses saw fear.

"Take them into the Mojave." Ulysses rumbled, making no move toward his weapon. "House will come to you."

"And what will you do?" Vera asked mockingly.

"The way is clear." Ulysses replied as he looked away from the shifting mass of Marked Men toward the valley below.

"Now I give history an answer."


	4. Chapter 4

John T. Calhoun surveyed the campfires of his railroad work teams with a satisfied smile on his bearded face. After years of waiting, his dream to usher in a new age was finally becoming reality. He cupped his hand over a match to protect it from the evening desert wind as he lit a cigar. Matches and cigars were rarities in the wasteland, and his use of them demonstrated his wealth and status. As Calhoun exhaled a cloud of smoke, he thought back over the events that had finally brought him to this moment.

The NCR was technically a democratic republic, but in practice it was a confederation of city states exerting their influence over the Legislature by virtue of wealth and status. In addition to the machinations of the cities, there was the influence peddling of the wealthy merchant houses, the largest and most influential of which was the Crimson Caravan Company. The Crimson Caravan ran a virtual monopoly on trade carried on the backs of the post war beast of burden, the Brahmin. The huge two-headed bovines were the most reliable beast of burden in the wastes, their slow, plodding gait compensated for by their great strength and endurance. In addition to their desirability as a beast of burden, Brahmin were able to thrive on contaminated water and feed, somehow keeping the worst of the toxins from their milk and meat. Brahmin were critical to the NCR, and the men who controlled the Brahmin were a collection of ranchers referred to as the "Brahmin Barons".

Up until a year ago, Calhoun was among their number, his vast landholding second in size only to his arch-rival "Hurricane" Heck Gunderson. He had wealth and power, but Calhoun chafed at being second to Gunderson in influence. Then the NCR moved to occupy the Mojave under the leadership of President Kendall, and everything changed. Like many others, Calhoun traveled to New Vegas to see first hand the glittering jewel of post war decadence created by the ancient warlord House. He had been duly impressed by the scale of what House had achieved, but it was in the desert that Calhoun saw the future. Miles of steel rails, many still intact after decades of neglect, and a locomotive, its green paint still visible as it sat as if waiting for its long-dead masters to return.

Calhoun had an epiphany at that moment. He remembered stories told by his father about the marvels of old America, especially the rails that connected all corners of the continent. Calhoun realized that if the locomotive could be made working again, it could haul more cargo in a day than the backs of Brahmin could manage in a month. And then there would be the passengers, willing to pay top dollar to travel the Mojave in comparative safety and comfort. The vision wouldn't leave the old Baron, and he returned to his ranch in California and began to send out teams to find whatever they could to repair the train and ignite its fusion engine.

That was when everything began to go sour. First came the drought, and Gunderson seized the opportunity to start buying out his competitors at rock-bottom prices. Fixated on his dream, Calhoun poured his wealth into the train instead, which was widely being mocked by those who lacked vision as "Calhoun's Folly". Then the second battle of Hoover Dam was fought, and the Legion seized control of the Mojave, shutting out the NCR except for the Crimson Caravan and its exclusive trade contract. Calhoun seethed with impotent rage as his dream vanished behind the red and gold banners of Caesar, and he was forced to turn his attention back to matters at home.

Gunderson was had bought or run off almost all of his competitors, and now used his domination of the Brahmin trade to drive the price of meat down to bankrupt the remaining few too wealthy to buy out, and too heavily armed to take by force. Calhoun knew there was only one way his rivalry with Gunderson was going to end, and to prepare for the inevitable he traveled to New Reno and contacted a foreign mercenary group called Talon Company.

The black armored mercenaries were led by a hard-bitten killer who went only by the name Mason. Talon Company was said to have come from the former state of Georgia, where a leadership dispute ignited a civil war in their ranks and split them into two groups. One, led by a mercenary named Jabsco, went east to the Capital Wasteland where he was never heard from again. Mason led the other force west, where they quickly gained a reputation for ruthless brutality. They didn't come cheap, but Calhoun met their price, knowing that the heavily armed killers would give Gunderson pause, even with his larger force of ranch hands and NCR troopers on the take.

Calhoun and Gunderson warily circled each other for years as more and more ranches were absorbed into their holdings until only the two Barons remained. Everything was poised for a bloody showdown when fate again intervened. Suddenly, House's rumored robotic army materialized out of nowhere and drove the Legion out of the Mojave. Calhoun saw his chance and he arranged a meeting with Gunderson at the Hub. The two aging barons faced off over a bottle of whiskey with their bodyguards glaring from over their shoulders. Gunderson was flanked by one of his grim-faced hands wearing work coveralls and a scowl, and his pet NCR Colonel in a brown uniform and red beret. Calhoun had brought Mason in his black battle scored armor, and his personal bodyguard Wilson. Wilson was pale and blond with a small goatee and his ice blue eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Wilson had once been a gunfighter who had racked up an impressive list of murders before "retiring" to the relative security of being Calhoun's personal bodyguard.

After the two barons exchanged empty pleasantries Calhoun got straight to the point. He would sell his entire herd and landholding at pre-recession prices, take it or leave it. Gunderson took a drink of whiskey in an attempt to hide his amazement, and after a moment asked Calhoun why. Calhoun allowed himself a small smile at his rivals surprise, and repeated his offer. The price was a staggering sum, but if Gunderson accepted he would have an undisputed monopoly over the Brahmin trade, as well as exclusive bargaining rights with the caravan companies. If he refused, he knew Calhoun would fight to the bitter end, and one look at the scarred mercenary scowling at him with his arms crossed convinced Gunderson how costly that path would be. Gunderson hesitated a moment longer, than reached across to shake hands with Calhoun and seal the deal.

Calhoun was no longer a Brahmin Baron, but he was now the richest man in the NCR, but before he could begin rebuilding the railroad, he had to get House's approval. On the journey to the Mojave, Calhoun was attacked by a raider gang that proved no match for Talon Company and his bodyguard's steel nerved accuracy with his heavy revolvers. The mercenaries interrogated one of the raiders and found that they had been hired by the Crimson Caravan Company to make sure Calhoun never made it to Vegas. The old man was fiercely jubilant at the news. Despite a relentless smear campaign against his railroad project, the Crimson Caravan had just admitted how much of a threat they regarded him. Calhoun had heard rumors that the Company had sabotaged the earlier NCR effort to rebuild the railroad using convicts. The convicts had escaped their heavily guarded prison somehow and formed a small army called the Powder Gang from the demolition explosives they used. They ran amok through the southern Mojave until the Legion arrived and crucified them all along the Long 15.

Calhoun arrived at Vegas and spoke with House on the view screen of a Securitron on the steps of the Lucky 38. House agreed to allow Calhoun to finish the repairing the rail lines in return for a 10 percent tax on all cargo profits and passenger fees when the project was completed. Talon Company would also be allowed into the Mojave without the prohibition on their numbers that the NCR had. Calhoun agreed, suspecting that House allowed Talon Company only because the reclusive warlord had the means to buy their allegiance if needed. He had seen the devastation left by the Legion's civil war, and the huge demand for building supplies was clear. A working train would definitely speed House's rebuilding effort, making his approval of the project almost a foregone conclusion. With House's permission, Calhoun began sending his caravans to the Mojave with the intention of establishing a work camp in the ruins of Boulder City. Unlike the NCRCF, Calhoun was going to use paid workers to build his short-line to the California border. He considered the use of convicts to be stupid and wasteful. Paid workers might cost more, but they worked harder and their loyalties were tied to their paymaster. Talon Company was much the same, and since they were a foreign army there was little chance their ranks had been infiltrated by Crimson Caravan spies.

Calhoun exhaled another cloud of smoke, and then ground the remnants of his cigar out under his boot. He then began to walk toward the massive bulk of his engine with Wilson following just behind as he always did. Nobody crossed the black clad gunslinger with his unsmiling face and dead eyes, and Calhoun felt completely secure in his presence. He stopped in front of the engine and looked up at the still intact windows far above. Tomorrow would be the first test of whether his gamble had paid off as the train would be driven for the first time in two centuries. If successful, the next step would be to connect a line of refurbished cars carrying tools, railroad ties, and his workers. Talon Company would ride in one of the cars as well as on top, turning the train into a rolling fortress, impervious to any attempts to stop progress from finally coming to the Mojave.

"Securitron coming in!" One of the perimeter guards shouted, and Calhoun scowled under his hat brim. House's robot enforcers only patrolled the main roads infrequently as he kept the bulk of his force in New Vegas. It was not by chance that one was speeding toward his camp, and Calhoun didn't like it one bit. He also had a strong suspicion what this meeting was going to be about. When he had negotiated Mason's contract, the mercenary insisted on a clause that he and his men were free to pursue any bounties that they held. Calhoun agreed to the condition with the addition that such endeavors would not impact construction of the railroad. Earlier a few hours earlier a Talon Company sergeant had returned from the 188 Slop N' Shop to report that they had attempted to collect a bounty at the outpost, but the target had escaped. It was the first hint of trouble Calhoun had seen, and he suspected that he was about to find out how far House's tolerance extended.

Calhoun waited with no sign of irritation on his craggy, weather-beaten face. The Securitron had rolled through his perimeter guards without slowing down, showing a casual disregard that infuriated the former Baron. Finally the robot came to a stop in a cloud of dust directly in front of Calhoun and Wilson, neither of whom reached for their weapons. Such a show of strength was meaningless to the heavily armed and armored killing machines, and Calhoun had no intention of allowing any of his tension to show.

"What can I do for you?" Calhoun finally said to the scowling soldier icon on the Securitron's monitor. The image flickered and then glowed green as it changed to the sardonic representation of House's face.

"Your men attempted to kill a local celebrity named Valeria at the 188." Said House's amused voice from the Securitron's speakers. "I would like to know the circumstances behind the incident in your own words."

"As I understand from the mercs that were there..." Calhoun drawled as he noted how extensive House's network of informants was. "...This 'Valeria' was an exact match to a description on a thousand cap bounty issued by an Allistair Tenpenny."

"Tenpenny eh?" House replied thoughtfully. "I'm familiar with the name, although it surprises me to see his influence this far west."

"The mercenary said there was no mistaking the description on the bounty." Calhoun added as he crossed his arms.

"No, I imagine there wouldn't." House added with almost a chuckle in his voice. "However your men were less than discreet and created a potential complication."

"Who is Valeria?" Calhoun asked with a scowl.

"A wild card." House replied without elaboration. "One that needed to be dealt with eventually, but as I said before, with discretion."

"If you want her dead, why not send your Securitrons?" Calhoun demanded.

"Because against my advice, this person made an unnecessary but very public stand against the Legion." House replied with all humor gone from his voice. "It would be... awkward if my Securitrons were seen taking out a local hero."

"So you want me to rein in Mason?" Calhoun snapped. He needed to establish that even if House ruled the Mojave, Calhoun was in control of his own people.

"On the contrary." House replied. "I want you to redouble your efforts to collect the bounty. However I must insist that there be no witnesses to the deed."

"Talon Company is protecting my train!" Calhoun growled. "I'm not going to send my guards away on a wild goose chase!"

"Just because I prioritize the defense of my city doesn't mean I can't project sufficient force elsewhere." House replied calmly. "I will send a detachment of Securitrons to insure the defense of your train while Talon Company fills their contract. Will that suffice?"

"All right House." Calhoun growled, knowing House's question was completely rhetorical. "I'll turn Talon Company loose, but only until the bounty has been collected or Valeria has left the Mojave."

"That will be satisfactory." House replied before his image flickered and changed back to the scowling soldier.

"Have a nice day." The Securitron barked in its electronic monotone before whirling on its wheel and speeding away in a spray of gravel.

"Are you going to do it?" Wilson asked as Calhoun glared after the robot receding into the distance.

"Get Mason over here!" Calhoun snarled as he spat into the track made by the Securitron's wheel.

Wilson nodded and turned to stride off into the gathering darkness while Calhoun angrily lit another cigar. The tip glowed red as he inhaled and glared at the distant glow of New Vegas, visible even from Boulder City. For now he needed House's good will, so for now he would play it his way. But soon his train would be working, and once he had his transport hub established...

...It would be a whole new game.


	5. Chapter 5

"It looks like the generator's still working." Veronica observed dourly as she stepped into the old Brotherhood bunker buried in Hidden Valley. Valeria followed her into the room, ducking her head as she looked about the dusty clutter of Veronica's workshop.

"It seems like an eternity since we left." Veronica said quietly as she looked about the benches and tables before her gaze halted on the Brotherhood of Steel banner hanging from the wall.

"A lot has happened." Valeria agreed as she unslung her hammer and leaned it against a wall. After they had left Helios One, they briefly considered where to go next. Veronica looked toward the hills to the west and then announced they would head through Scorpion Gulch to her old hideout in Hidden Valley. Her tone discouraged any more discussion and she offered no explanations. The pass was rugged and treacherous, even in the moonlight, but Veronica refused all of Valeria's gestures to help with furious shakes of her head. Finally they entered the swirling sandstorm covering the floor of Hidden Valley and descended into the old bunker they had left so long ago.

"I should have...cleaned up...or something." Veronica said distantly as she continued to stare at the banner while Valeria silently stared at her, unable to read her mood or know what to say.

"We weren't planning to come back." Valeria finally said awkwardly. "We just...took what we needed."

"I wasn't planning to come back." Veronica snapped as she turned furiously toward Valeria. "You just followed me!"

"Ronnie..." Valeria said helplessly.

"That's the way its been ever since you saved me outside of Nipton!" Veronica shouted as she strode toward Valeria, her eyes shining.

"I didn't save you." Valeria objected in confusion.

"Stop doing that!" Veronica shouted as she stopped in front of Valeria, her fists clenched and shaking with suppressed emotion. "You saved me then, and you keep saving me! You follow me everywhere I go, you jump in front of everything that gets shot at me! Why!"

"You're my friend." Was all Valeria could say as she looked down into Veronica's furious face.

"Have you thought of what being my...friend means?" Veronica demanded. "How much trouble have I gotten you into Val?"

"What do you mean Ronnie?" Valeria asked in bewilderment.

"As soon as we met you were on the run from the Legion!" Veronica shouted as shoved her hand in front of Valeria's face and began to snap her fingers up for emphasis. "To support us you used yourself as mutant bait in the Thorn! You were nearly killed by the Legion at Indian Springs, and at the Sierra Madre, and who knows how many times since!" She clenched her fist and snapped it down to her side, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

"And now we're probably on the run from House." She whispered. "You never complain, you never even get mad. All you ever do is give me that hurt puppy look!"

"What do you want me to do?" Valeria finally asked as she unconsciously raised her hands as if to ward off Veronica's anger.

"I don't know!" Veronica screamed and then whirled and stepped furiously away as she clasped her arms about her. The two women stood in awkward silence for a long moment until Valeria finally spoke.

"I used to think I didn't mind being alone." She said awkwardly to Veronica's back. "But that was a lie I told myself because I knew I always would be. I'm a deformed freak, and I can't hide that. Anyone who gets past that eventually finds out I'm a blood-drinking...cannibal." Her voice filled with self-loathing as she looked down at her boots.

"You know everything about me...but you never turned away."

"So my...friendship means that much to you?" Veronica whispered as she slowly turned about to face Valeria.

"There were times when I felt like the world would be better if I...wasn't in it." Valeria whispered without looking up. "But then I think of mom and dad, and all they sacrificed for me. I feel like I owe it to them to try to make something...good of all this." Valeria's voice trailed off and she stood in miserable silence as she waited for Veronica's response.

"That's not what you want." Veronica finally said, anger again creeping into her voice. "That's what you think your parents wanted. Are you telling me the only reason you keep living is because you owe it to your parents?"

"I..." was all Valeria could say before Veronica angrily cut her off, her eyes flashing with anger.

"That's not good enough!" She shouted. "If you don't think your life's worth anything, then nobody's going to disagree! I was the Legion's slave for a year Val! A year! Do you have any idea what it's like to be less than an animal, good only for breeding!" Veronica's face was wet with tears as the words poured out of her in a rush.

"I was all alone Val, with those animals doing everything in their power to break me! If you think I never thought of ending it all you are sadly mistaken." Veronica shook her head angrily as Valeria stood as still as a statue.

"They came so close to breaking me Val...so close." Veronica closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath before she opened them again and stared grimly up at Valeria. "Do you know what got me through?" She finally whispered. "It wasn't loyalty to the Brotherhood, or hatred of those Legion bastards. I realized my life was worth something, even though I was imprisoned in that hell with nobody who knew or cared. That was when I managed to escape and make my way here."

Valeria looked into Veronica's eyes and saw volumes of pain and suffering that was only hinted at in her spare account of her imprisonment by the Legion. Valeria remembered another time when she too was a slave in the far off ruins of old Pittsburgh. However, she also remembered the grudging respect and even fear the guards had for her immense strength. Valeria could only imagine how utterly helpless and alone Veronica must have been.

"It's been...so long time since anyone cared about me like you do." Veronica said, interrupting Valeria's thoughts. "But I need to hear you say it. I need you to tell me you keep jumping in harm's way because you care, and not because you want your death to have some kind of meaning. I can't stand the thought of you wanting to die because I...I...

...love you."

Valeria stood stunned into immobility at what Veronica had said. Her mouth opened in shock as she tried to gather her whirling thoughts and form some sort of reply. Veronica sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Speechless huh?" She said with a smile. "I guess that is a bit much. I kind of realized what you meant to me when you collapsed after those Talon Company assholes shot you up. I never thought I'd fall for someone who wasn't a leggy brunette, but you really grew on me you big lummox." Veronica grinned as she covered her feelings with a flippant tone, but Valeria could see the hurt in her eyes as she turned away and walked toward the workbench.

"Maybe I can salvage some supplies..." Veronica started to say when Valeria's huge hand gently rested on her shoulder. Veronica stiffened at the touch, and then tentatively reached up to rest her hand on Valeria's as she gave a shuddering sigh.

"I would die for you Veronica." Valeria finally said, her voice hoarse with emotion. "Not because I want to, but because the thought of life without you in it is more than I can bear."

"Val..." Veronica whispered as she turned around, her hand still resting on Valeria's as she looked up into her friend's tear-stained face.

"I hardly ever see you cry." Veronica said as she gently ran her fingertips along Valeria's face.

"I cry all the time." Valeria replied with a weak smile. "It's just nobody can hear it."

"We really need to talk more." Veronica said gently as she stroked the tears from Valeria's face with her hand. "We keep too many secrets from each other. It's not healthy."

Valeria smiled at her friend's irrepressible humor, and closed her eyes as she luxuriated in the intimacy of Veronica's gentle touch.

"You've never been touched, have you?" Veronica asked wonderingly as Valeria gave a small sigh.

Valeria gave a small shake of her head, not wanting to speak and break the moment.

"Then this should be interesting." Veronica said as she stood on her toes and embraced Valeria, kissing her passionately on the lips.

Valeria's eyes flew open in shock just as Veronica yelped and pushed away, pressing her fingers to her mouth.

"What...?" Valeria exclaimed in confusion as Veronica dabbed at her lip and looked ruefully at her fingertips.

"It's okay Val." She said with a rueful sigh. "I just cut my lip on one of your fangs."

"I...I'm so sorry Ronnie!" Valeria exclaimed in horror.

"It's okay Val, really." Veronica reassured her friend with a smile. "I just forget how different you are. I'll just have to make adjustments next time." Veronica's smile slipped a little as she added. "Uh, I'm sorry if I went too far. All that confession kind of went to my head."

"No, it's all right." Valeria replied as she touched her cheek wonderingly. She could still feel Veronica's fingertips, and her lips seemed to tingle where Veronica's had touched them. She had never kissed anyone like that in her life, and never believed she would. Then Valeria realized that Veronica was waiting for a response, one hand at her mouth and the other clasped at her waist almost fearfully.

"I'm sorry Ronnie, but you're right." Valeria started to say when she saw the sadness in Veronica's eyes and she quickly added. "It's the first time I've ever...done anything like that."

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked in genuine concern. "Your face is all red..." Suddenly her eyes widened with realization. "You're blushing!"

"I am?" Valeria asked in self-conscious amazement as she touched her suddenly burning cheek.

"Oh my!" Veronica exclaimed as she covered her mouth with a gasp. "You're turning red all the way down your neck!" Veronica began to giggle, a sound Valeria had never heard from Veronica before, and she began to smile despite her own embarrassment as Veronica began to laugh.

"You're adorable for a giant amazon." Veronica finally said as her laughter died down. I don't know about you, but I'm beat." Veronica turned to look at the steel single bed in the corner of the room.

"I'll use the floor like last time." Valeria quickly offered as she saw the direction of Veronica's gaze.

"Haven't you been listening to me?" Veronica snapped with mock severity. "You're going to use the bed and like it!"

"But..." Valeria began to object before Veronica cut her off.

"The only but I want is yours getting in that bed!" Veronica snapped as she began to remove her hood.

"Ronnie..." Valeria said somberly as Veronica dropped her hood on the workbench and shook her brown hair free of her bun. Veronica stopped and looked at Valeria, her brown eyes still haunted by sadness as she waited for what Valeria had to say.

"This is a lot for me to take in." Valeria said awkwardly, unable to meet Veronica's eyes. "I've never felt anything like that before, and it was both exciting and...scary. I've been a mutant all my life, but I still don't know what I'm capable of. All I've ever known since I left the vault was fear, pain, and...rage. You and I both know how my body reacts to those emotions..."

Veronica didn't answer, but her mind raced back to the time in the Thorn when she saw Valeria covered with blood and screaming like a crazed beast from the floor of the arena.

"I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you, and after you cut your mouth..."

"Shh." Veronica whispered as she touched her finger to Val's lips silencing her. "I just told you I loved you with all the risks that come with that statement. I trust you Val, and I know you would never hurt me, deliberately or not. Now do you trust me?"

Valeria nodded mutely and Veronica smiled. "Good, then here's what we're going to do. I've been lonely for a long time, so I got a bit pushy. The last thing I want to do is drive away my only friend, so I'm going to back off and let you set the boundaries. Okay?"

"Okay." Val replied with a nod as she stepped forward and enveloped Veronica in her huge arms. Veronica sighed as she returned Valeria's embrace, her hands running over the corded muscles of the giant woman's back.

"Wow you're big." Veronica finally said as she gently pushed away and smiled up at Valeria. "It's a good thing I'm not any shorter or those monster boobs of yours could be a real problem."

Again Valeria began to blush furiously and Veronica chuckled as she turned and began to take off her robe.

"That's never going to get old." She said with a smile as Valeria saw Veronica's back for the first time, seeing crisscrossed white scars from the slash of a whip. Veronica turned back around and faced Valeria, knowing she had seen the scars and understood what they meant. Valeria gently traced one of the scars along Veronica's jaw with her finger, a look of deep regret and sadness on her face.

"Those are not your fault Val." Veronica admonished with a smile. "Now get out of that skimpy nothing you call armor and get to bed. We could have the entire Mojave hunting for us, and this might be the last safe night's sleep we get for a while."

Veronica waited with her arms crossed as she watched the immense play of muscles along Valeria's freakishly huge body as she removed her armor.

"I'll take the floor this time Val." She finally said as Valeria stretched with a loud crackle.

"Please don't." Valeria replied with surprising firmness as she lay on her side with her knees pulled up almost in a fetal position to keep her feet on the bed.

"I know its crowded." Valeria apologized.

"But where there's a will there's a way." Veronica added with a grin as she climbed into bed and curled up back to front with Valeria. She then took Valeria's hand and pulled her arm over in an embrace before settling down with a sigh.

"Good night Val." Veronica said as she smiled and closed her eyes.

"Good night Ronnie." Valeria replied with a smile as she pulled her friend a little closer, and then closed her eyes as well.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was just beginning to clear the distant eastern mountains when Veronica and Valeria arrived at the crumbling remains of the Long 15 and began their journey south. Veronica had awakened hours before, but spent them lying in Valeria's slumbering embrace listening to her friend's deep, even breathing. Veronica had hardly ever seen Valeria sleep as the big woman seemed content to take only short naps. Often Veronica fell asleep with Valeria on self-appointed watch, and awoke to find her still awake. It often annoyed Veronica that Valeria was willing to sacrifice her own comfort to protect her, but deep down she had to admit she had come to rely on Valeria's steadfast guardianship. However the incident with Talon Company had frightened Veronica more than she wanted to admit.

Valeria had always seemed indestructible, surviving incidents and injuries that would have killed anyone else. Veronica had never seen Valeria collapse like she had outside of Helios One, and it was a stark reminder that for all her inhuman abilities Valeria could still be seriously hurt...even killed. Watching Valeria sleep, even with her mouth slightly open exposing her fangs, just made her seem all the more human. For the first time since they had met outside of Nipton, Veronica found herself feeling protective of her huge friend, and deep down very afraid of losing her.

When Valeria finally awoke, Veronica served them both a meager breakfast of pork-n-beans. As they ate, she told Valeria of her plan to head to the NCR and rejoin her old chapter.

"Why?" Valeria asked in surprise. "I thought we were going to stay in the Mojave."

"The Mojave just got too hot for us." Veronica explained around a mouthful of beans. "There's a mercenary Company after you, and it's likely House is after us both. The Brotherhood isn't perfect, but I think we can lay low with them until we figure out our next move."

"Neither of us were pardoned when we were released from prison." Valeria pointed out, frowning in confusion as she tried to read Veronica's mood. "We could get arrested again."

"The NCR is spread pretty thin." Veronica said as she stared down at her beans. "If it wasn't, there wouldn't be any Brotherhood left in California. How much help can we be for the people of the Mojave if we're being hunted every step of the way?"

"Okay Veronica." Valeria said with a nod. "We'll go to the Brotherhood."

"Just like that?" Veronica snapped with a flash of guilty irritation. "What do you want to do Val?"

"What do I want?" Valeria asked in surprise as she stared intently at her friend. Veronica continued to stare at Valeria, clearly expecting an answer. Valeria looked away for a moment before looking back into Veronica's eyes.

"I want to be with you Ronnie. Wherever that is."

"That's it?" Veronica demanded. "Wherever I want to go, you'll follow?"

"Well..." Valeria added carefully as she tried to understand what her friend wanted. "My dad said he had come from Arroyo before he met mom in New Vegas. I always wondered if...there was something more I could learn about him."

"Arroyo's the northernmost city in the NCR!" Veronica said with sudden excitement. "That's perfect! We'll make contact with the Brotherhood, and then use their networks to head to Arroyo!"

Valeria's admitted interest in Arroyo seemed to resolve a conflict in Veronica's mind, and she soon led the way out of the bunker with most of her old optimism restored. Valeria followed, still confused by her friend's mercurial moods, but pleased that she seemed to be her old self again.

Although early in the day, the temperature was already rising with the blazing Mojave sun. Beneath her armor-weave robes and headscarf, Veronica was beginning to sweat profusely as Valeria took the lead, watching the horizon for any signs of patrolling Securitrons. Not for the first time Veronica envied her friend's ability to stand nearly naked under the harsh desert sun and show no ill effects. More than that, she also envied Valeria's willingness to face the world uncovered. Valeria clearly considered herself to be horribly ugly, yet she wore almost nothing and made no effort to hide from the judgment of others. For all the brash confidence she projected, Veronica was incapable of doing the same and the deep scars on her face only made the matter worse.

"I see smoke Ronnie." Valeria announced as she stopped and shaded her eyes with her hand.

"Where?" Veronica asked as she stepped next to Valeria and peered into the shimmering haze.

"Up ahead." Valeria replied as she continued to peer at the horizon. "It's black, so it's not a grass fire."

"Primm is the only town south of here." Veronica said worriedly as she looked up at Valeria. Valeria nodded grimly and unslung her hammer.

"Stay behind me Ronnie." Valeria ordered as she began to stride forward, her hammer held at the ready. Veronica checked the pneumatic ram on the back of her gauntlet, and then pointedly strode forward to match Valeria's pace at her side. Valeria glanced down at her friend, and continued to advance toward the smoke now clear to them both.

Soon they could see the decaying remains of the Roller Coaster behind the old Bison Steve Hotel, as well as clouds of thick black smoke billowing from the other buildings making up the town of Primm. The only sound they could hear was the croak of ravens as they wheeled and swooped over the ruins.

"Val!" Veronica exclaimed as she pointed to the road where it dropped below a bridge over the highway. Valeria didn't reply, only raising her hammer and striding toward a tangled mass of smoking metal covering the highway like a scorched junkyard. Valeria's nose wrinkled from the acrid smell of burned plastic and metal as she immediately identified the boxlike chassis of the shattered machines.

"Securitrons." Veronica whispered in amazement. "There must be over a dozen. What the hell happened here?"

Valeria didn't reply as she knelt to look at the destroyed robots.

"This happened hours ago." Valeria finally announced as she stood and looked grimly at ruins above them. "It looks like they were hit with energy weapons and rockets and judging from what's left of the buildings they gave as good as they got."

"I can't believe House lost twelve Securitrons and hasn't sent an army down here." Veronica said shaking her head as Valeria left the road and walked through the shattered buildings toward the bridge, which was the only entry point through an iron fenced concrete wall that surrounded the town. Valeria stopped when she reached the bridge and put out her arm, halting Veronica beside her.

"This is going to be bad Ronnie." Valeria said grimly as she looked down at her friend.

"I was at Novac when the Legion pillaged it, remember?" Veronica replied with a scowl. "I can handle it." And then to prove her point, Veronica began to stride angrily over the bridge. She didn't look back to see if Valeria was following as she crossed to the other side, disturbing a flock of ravens that flew cawing into the fierce blue sky.

The road before her led straight to the Bison Steve Hotel after passing between the three-story Viki and Vance Hotel on the left and the two-story Mojave Express building on the right. All of the buildings had smoke drifting from exposed rafters and charred holes blasted through the brick and stucco walls. Immediately to Veronica's left was an ancient fueling station, now flattened with its heavy steel roof supports shot away.

"If anyone is out there!" A man's voice called hoarsely from beneath the collapsed structure. "I am in...dire need of assistance!"

Startled by the unexpected shout, Veronica quickly looked about for any signs of ambush, and then walked quickly to where the shout came from. On the other side of the roof, Veronica saw the remains of a crushed car holding part of the heavy steel structure off the ground.

"I am afraid I am in quite a predicament." The man's voice said from the shadows. "My legs are pinned under a beam, and only this derelict vehicle has kept me from meeting my maker."

"Who are you?" Veronica asked as she crouched down to see under the ruin. She could see an outstretched hand spread on the ancient concrete, and just beyond the gray hair of the man's head.

"I'm sheriff Beagle my good lady." The man replied. "I would stand up, but as you can see I am quite incapable of that right now."

"Do you know what happened?" Veronica asked, looking up to see Valeria standing beside her.

"I do indeed." Beagle replied with a short laugh that turned into a cough. "But I would rather tell you what I know after I have been freed from this...situation."

Veronica scowled at the heavy steel beams forming the triangular arch of the roof. It clearly weighed hundreds of pounds and doubtless would have crushed Beagle if the bulk of the ancient car hadn't taken most of the impact.

"I must caution you that trying to slide this roof off may very well...crush my legs." The eloquent bravado in Beagle's voice broke as he mentioned his possible fate, and Veronica looked up at Valeria who was staring thoughtfully at the ruin.

"Get ready to pull Beagle free Ronnie." Valeria finally said as she spread her booted feet wide and gripped one of the roof beams.

"Take my hand!" Veronica snapped to Beagle as she braced herself and clasped both hands on his outstretched arm.

"Not that I'm ungrateful..." Beagle began to say, but was drowned out by Valeria's shriek of effort as she strained against the fallen roof. For a second nothing happened, and then with tendons and muscles standing out in quivering relief through her skin, Valeria began to lift the roof with a groan. Not knowing how long Valeria could hold the pile of steel off of Beagle, Veronica dug in her heels and hauled back on Beagle's arm, shouting "Move!" as she did so. Beagle lurched out from beneath the wreckage to sprawl on his face as Valeria released her hold and the pile slammed back down with a crash. Beagle's leather armor was smeared with dirt and blood, as was his face and hair. He began to climb painfully to his feet with Veronica's help, and smiled at Veronica.

"Much obliged to you both..." Beagle began to say as he turned his head to see who his other benefactor was. Upon seeing Valeria, his eyes went wide and his confident smile fled his bearded lips.

"Oh God!" He shrieked in terror. "Vera!"

Although clearly injured, Beagle tried frantically to get to flee while getting to his feet, instead almost crawling in his panicked desire to escape. Veronica got to him first, grabbing his shoulder and trying to halt his flight. Almost gibbering with panic, Beagle suddenly whirled and punched at Veronica's head. The young scribe's trained reflexes took over as she blocked with her forearm and sent Beagle to the ground with a right cross. The former sheriff lay groveling and weeping with terror as Valeria seized his shoulder and flipped him on his back.

"You called me Vera!" Valeria snapped with an anger in her voice that made Veronica start with surprise. "Why?"

"Th...that's what the skinned men called you!" Beagle stammered as confusion warred with terror on his face.

"Skinned men?" Veronica interrupted. "What are you talking about? Was there raiders wearing hides?"

"No!" Beagle shouted, shaking his head emphatically. "Not wearing skins! Skinned! As if they'd been flayed!"

"Ghouls?" Valeria asked, frowning with confusion. "And someone who looked like me?"

"Exactly like you." Beagle replied as he sat up rubbing his jaw. As realization began to dawn that Valeria and Veronica weren't who he thought, his fear began to subside. "It was hard to understand the flayed men, but they called her 'Vera', I'm sure of it."

"What happened." Valeria said, her voice low and urgent. "Tell us everything."

"Well, it was just before dawn." Beagle mused as he slowly got to his feet while eying the two women warily. "I was...making my rounds when the flayed men came pouring out of the hills." Beagle pointed across the bridge toward the mountains rising to the west of Primm. "The Ranger garrison put up a fight, but they didn't last long. The two Securitrons on the road didn't fare any better but the gunfire did wake the town up. All the citizens managed to arm themselves, not that it did any good."

"Are there other survivors?" Veronica snapped, eliciting a half-shrug from Beagle who continued to stare at Valeria.

"I was hi...er, waiting for the right time to strike when I was caught by the flayed men. They brought me before...Vera." Beagle again looked at Valeria with some of the fear returning to his eyes. "It looked like Karl and I were all that was left."

"Karl?" Valeria interrupted.

"Karl is a courier with the Mojave Express." Beagle explained. "He was already trying to convince Vera that his knowledge of the Mojave would be useful to her. I think she was trying to discern the most creative way to kill us when the Securitrons attacked."

"How did you escape?" Veronica asked with a frown as she crossed her arms.

"I saw my chance when Vera and her...men took off to fight the Securitrons. I made it as far as the carport when something blew the supports and dropped the ceiling on me."

"So you don't know what happened next?" Veronica demanded.

"When I came to it was clear that Vera didn't know I was trapped under there, and it seemed imprudent to rectify that erroneous assumption." Beagle shrugged and finally turned away from Valeria to face Veronica. "From what I overheard, the fight with the Securitrons convinced Vera that Karl was correct and she took him south with her."

"Vera went south?" Valeria asked as she stepped forward causing Beagle to step back and raise his hands in alarm.

"They took the dead with them, and I highly doubt it was for proper burial." Beagle said as he backed up another step. "But if I can assume that you aren't Vera trying to trick me, then I really need to head north to warn the communities along the I-15."

Beagle took another slow step back as Valeria and Veronica stared sternly at him, and then Valeria shrugged.

"Yes, you had better warn the others."

"Then I shall bid both you...ladies good day." Beagle nodded and began to limp as quickly as he could toward the bridge.

"I'll bet he won't stop running until he gets to New Vegas." Veronica sneered while Valeria turned to look south.

"Should we...search for survivors?" Veronica asked as Valeria continued to stare at the horizon.

"Val!" Veronica finally snapped, causing Valeria to finally turn to look at her.

"Sorry Ronnie." Valeria apologized. "I thought Vera died at the Sierra Madre, but clearly she's here in the Mojave."

"Is it that bad?" Veronica after a pause.

"Worse." Valeria replied grimly as she returned her gaze south. "Look at what she did to Primm. We were both made by the same experiment, and she's insane."

"And there's those 'flayed men' Beagle mentioned." Veronica added as she chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully. "Something about them rings a bell."

"She has to be stopped Ronnie." Valeria said without turning around.

"Let House take care of it Val." Veronica said quietly as she rested her hand on her friend's forearm.

"Vera and her...reavers just wiped out over a dozen Mark II Securitrons Ronnie." Valeria said looking down into Veronica's haunted eyes. "I've dealt with House before. If we aren't seeing more Securitrons now, they aren't coming."

"So you think it's our responsibility to stop Vera?" Veronica growled with mounting anger. "What exactly can we do Val?"

"I'm sorry." Valeria said as she looked away to hide the sorrow in her eyes. "I can't just stand by and let innocent people die. Not if there's anything I can do about it."

Veronica glared up at Valeria as minutes ticked by in the eerie silence. Finally she sighed and looked south as well.

"I suppose there's no arguing with someone who tried to hold off the entire Legion single-handed." She finally said with a sigh. "You don't question or hesitate when someone needs help. It drives me crazy, but it's also what I love about you."

"Ronnie..." Valeria started to say but was hushed by Veronica's finger pressed against her lips.

"It's okay Val." Veronica whispered with her quirky smile. "Let's go save the Mojave."


	7. Chapter 7

Night was falling over the Mojave, the dying rays of the sun revealing the stars in a clear violet sky, and a sickly green glow hanging like mist over the town of Searchlight. The town was eerily silent save for the hiss of the desert wind as it blew radioactive dust over the empty buildings and rusting vehicles. Two trucks filled with radioactive waste had been stored in the Firehouse just as the bombs had begun to fall. They remained untouched for two-hundred years until Legion saboteurs released the deadly cargo, killing and ghoulifying the population and the NCR garrison stationed there. Now the desert stretched silent and empty in all directions, with rolling tumbleweeds disturbing the stillness. Then a white dot of light appeared to the north, followed by another and another until the horizon was filled with glowing dots growing steadily larger. Soon the boxlike shapes of scores of Securitrons were revealed as they followed the remains of Highway 93 toward Searchlight.

As soon as the hulking robots rolled within a mile of Searchlight, they split toward the east and west, rolling to their assigned positions in a giant pincer around the radiated ruins. Just as the town was almost completely encircled, more lights appeared from the west, soon revealing another force of twenty Securitrons rolling toward town in a cloud of dust. All but one promptly rolled into positions around Searchlight. The last Securitron rolled to the top of a low hill overlooking the town and waited silently as the rest of the robots completed their encirclement. Soon the desert was still once again as the Securitrons waited immobile at their positions, searchlights probing the heavy shadows between the buildings.

Then the panels covering the shoulder launchers of the Securitrons slid open, and with a cloud of smoky contrails bank upon bank of mini-missiles hissed into Searchlight. A thundering roar echoed across the desert as rocket after rocket slammed into wall supports, tore through walls, and ripped into the trucks and cars abandoned in the street. Plumes of fire roared into the sky as the decaying fusion cores of the vehicles ignited, adding their atomic fury to the storm of destruction. Suddenly the church in the middle of town collapsed, its bell tower toppling into main street with a clang lost in the thunder of explosions. Then as suddenly as it started, the barrage ceased as the Securitrons closed their empty launchers and again waited in silence as more buildings collapsed in clouds of smoke and dust.

Suddenly the silence was shattered by hoarse howls as ghouls, their decaying bodies glowing green with radiation began to crawl out of the rubble. Their eyes blazing with mindless ferocity, the ghouls ran, shambled, and even crawled out of the ruins toward the waiting ring of Securitrons. In reply the robots raised their pincered arms which suddenly blazed with white hot beams of light. The ghouls continued to charge howling as the Securitron's lasers scythed them down, so consumed by hate they attempted to drag themselves forward even as their arms and legs were amputated by the searing beams. Soon the last ghoul fell, its last snarls rattling in its throat as the ruins again fell silent. On the hill above, the lone Securitron stood immobile as echoes of the battle died away. Then its radio antenna began to twist back and forth as new orders were broadcast and the ring around Searchlight shrank as the Securitrons slowly entered the ruins.

The Securitrons soon had to break formation as they maneuvered between piles of rubble and around exposed basements and cellars. Although their single wheel gave them greater mobility, they still couldn't navigate the piles of burning debris and the ring soon became rows like the spokes of a wheel as the robots rolled toward the center of town. The Securitrons upper chassis swiveled back and forth as they moved forward attempting to detect any surviving enemies. The heat of the burning vehicles and buildings made infrared scanning useless, as did the high levels of background radiation for their ultraviolet scanners. All that remained was their video cameras as they used searchlights trying to pierce the smoke and darkness. The lead robots of each column had almost met in front of the burning remains of the old fire station when the attack came.

Suddenly the ruins around the robots erupted in a storm of green plasma, searing red lasers, and arcing blasts of electricity. Caught in the ferocious cross-fire, the Securitrons spun about trying to find targets as their nanobot repair systems strained to repair their titanium armor. With howls of rage, Marked Men leaped from their concealed positions in the rubble and attacked the robots hand-to-hand with super-sledges and industrial arc welders crackling with electricity. Confused by the assault at both short and medium range, the Securitrons wasted precious seconds prioritizing their weapon systems as the marked men swarmed over them. Another override command was issued and the robots began blasting at the mutants with light machine guns and fragmentation grenades. Bullets and shrapnel tore through the marked men, but they only laughed maniacally at the pain as their radiated flesh closed over their gaping wounds. Within seconds the battle had turned as one Securitron after another was pulled down and destroyed. The robots closer to the edge of town attempted to obey a directive to flee, but found packs of the blood-red mutants cutting off their retreat as they charged behind a wall of plasma and laser fire.

On the hilltop, the lone Securitron watched with its antenna spinning wildly as fire and smoke erupted from Searchlight. Its screen flickered a moment as it received a new directive from its master, but before it could turn an impact from behind almost knocked it off its gyro-stabilizers. Its image flickered wildly as the robot tried to turn and dislodge its attacker who was ramming a long knife repeatedly into its back chassis. Then a power lead was severed in an explosion of sparks and the robot fell backwards as its assailant tumbled clear. The robot sparked and smoked as the glow of its flickering monitor illuminated the snarling face of Vera as she sheathed a ceramic knife and glared down at the Securitron.

"House!" She shouted, her eyes blazing with rage. "I know you can hear me!"

After a moment the soldier image vanished to be replaced with House's face.

"Do you consider this a victory Valeria?" He snapped, his voice distorted by static. "I assure you this is only a fraction of my army."

"Valeria!" Vera hissed as her eyes narrowed with fury. "She was an accident! I'm the one Sinclair meant the serum for! I'm the one you used and discarded! I'm the one whose career you destroyed with your influence when I left you for Sinclair!" Vera's voice had risen almost to a shriek as she vented her fury at House's image.

"Left for...Sinclair?" House replied incredulously before exclaiming with dawning realization. "Vera!"

"That wasn't my name." She snarled as she placed her hands to either side of the Securitron's screen and leaned down to glare into the monitor. "That was the name Dean Domino gave me when he brought me to you!"

"Even if you are who you say you are." House said evenly. "You will never leave the Mojave alive."

"I never said I meant to." Vera suddenly purred as she traced House's face with a long nail. "Sinclair's obsession turned me into...this thing, and revenge is all I have left. I...killed Sinclair the day the bombs fell." Vera's voice caught as she remembered the long-suppressed memory of his bloody corpse. "I killed Dean as my home burned around us!" Vera's face twisted with rage at the mention of Dean Domino, and her eyes blazed as she shrieked. "And now I'm coming for you!"

Vera pulled out her cosmic knife and with a scream drove it into the middle of House's face. There was a flash, and the screen went dark as the Securitron convulsed with a metallic clatter and then lay still. Vera tore her knife free and stood with a snarl of fury. With nothing left to vent her rage upon, she turned to look down at Searchlight where the echoes of battle were fading. She looked over the flaming ruins until she saw the burning remains of the old Police Station. Vera shook her head and snarled as she remembered leaving the Courier inside the station.

All her life she had been used by others, and she knew Karl was no different. She would have killed him as soon as she learned he was a Courier like Ulysses, except the attack by House's Securitrons interrupted her interrogation. After the battle, Karl offered a plan to trap and destroy House's army in return for his life. As insurance the Courier had refused to give her the details, a tactic that almost got him killed on the spot. Only the ferocity of the Securitron's assault convince Vera that he might be right and that going into the open desert would be suicidal. Karl said they needed to make for the town of Searchlight, but refused to say more. After glaring at the Courier for several minutes, Vera agreed ordering the Marked Men to take Karl along on a punishing forty mile run to the abandoned town.

To her surprise, Karl managed to keep up with the mutants despite their inhuman stamina and resilience. Once they reached Searchlight the Marked Men immediately sensed the radiation burning within the town. Vera confronted the impassive Courier, demanding if he knew about the radiation. Karl had calmly replied that the toxic spill at Searchlight was common knowledge, and he had suspected the ghouls following her would be unharmed. Before Vera could reply, the Marked Men met the irradiated former inhabitants of Searchlight, and there was a moment of tense silence as the Marked Men prepared to attack. The Searchlight ghouls stared with their opaque eyes, and then wandered away, ignoring the Marked Men as fellow ghouls. That was when Karl suggested using the ghouls as bait to lure House into an ambush. Vera glared at the Courier, acknowledging the logic of his plan, but certain he intended Searchlight to be the end of her. That was when she ordered the Marked Men to lock him in the Police Station. Her last words to Karl was that if his plan worked, she would release him before the radiation killed him.

Movement from below caught her attention and she looked toward Searchlight. The Marked Men were leaving the town, many of them staggering and limping as their radiated flesh healed from ghastly wounds. Vera looked over their number, noting there were fewer than before, but still more than enough remaining to exact her revenge. The Marked Men stopped before her, their hate washing over her like a wave. Vera stared at them, her white eyes wild as she remembered flashes of fire, blood, and agony with the nose less faces of the Marked Men around her, their yellow teeth bared in grimaces of rage. But if the rage of the Marked Men burned like flame, Vera's was like the sun itself. With a scream of raw fury, Vera thrust her blade toward the sky as her rage beat the Marked Men into submission, and one by one they raised their weapons and howled in response.

At the edge of town unnoticed by Vera and the marked men, a lone figure staggered clear of the burning ruins and headed west into the open desert. Karl had escaped his cell by using a bobby pin sewn into his clothes, and then fled during the chaos of the battle. The blood and burns covering his body attested to the difficulty of his escape. Sweat poured down his dark face as he pushed himself beyond all endurance to get clear of the mutants. Only one name repeated again and again within his mind...Ulysses. When he had offered his cover profession of "Courier" to the deranged mutant, her fury had hit him almost like a blow. She had said she knew a Courier, and his name was Ulysses. Karl knew it wasn't a coincidence, that the Ulysses behind Vera's invasion was the same Ulysses from the Wolfhorn Ranch, the man Karl had been sent to find by Vulpes Inculta and if necessary...

...The man he had to kill.


	8. Chapter 8

"How bad is it?" Veronica asked through gritted teeth as she tied a strip of cloth around the laser burn seared in her right thigh. She wasn't talking about the severity of her injury, and Valeria knew it as she crouched down and watched Veronica tend her leg, with concern and guilt warring in her expression.

"Bad." Valeria finally said with a heavy sigh as she looked over her shoulder at the door to the dark, wood-paneled office they had taken refuge in.

"Talon Company has the Town Hall surrounded, and it looks like the rumble we heard was a train coming into town with more mercenaries."

"So Calhoun's here." Veronica observed as she picked up a plasma pistol Valeria had recovered from a dead mercenary on the first floor landing. Veronica remembered Valeria's look of confusion when she asked her to recover a gun for her. She pointed out that with her leg injured she wasn't much good in a fight, and just because she didn't like guns didn't mean she didn't know how to use them.

"It looks like they're getting ready to storm the building." Val observed grimly as she looked into her friend's eyes. "After what happened to that squad they're not going to try again without heavier weapons."

Veronica nodded and looked down at the pistol in her lap. The twenty-mile journey to Nipton had been hard on her, especially since they had to travel off-road to avoid patrols. Their caution had been proven correct when they saw a force of at least twenty Securitrons heading east on the main road. When they finally reached Nipton, they did see smoke but only the scattered wisps suggesting cook-fires. Veronica had heard that some settlers had returned to Nipton after the Legion had made an example of the garrison, and the fact that it appeared untouched by Vera's raiders looked too good to be true. Both women were eager to find a safe place to stay, and as a result let their guard down as they entered the town and blundered into a squad of Talon Company Mercenaries.

Valeria immediately drew her hammer and leaped to attack as the Talons opened fire. Valeria twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blasts as she brought her hammer down on a Talon's helmet. Whirling to strike again, she had seen Veronica go down as a stray blast seared her leg. In that split-second, Valeria made a desperate decision and dropped her hammer to leap to Veronica's side and sweep her up in her arms. Startled, the Talon's next shots missed as Valeria ran for the only cover visible, the ancient three-story Town Hall. Valeria had smashed through the front door and hurtled through the dimly lit interior until she reached the stairs to the second floor. She had just dropped Veronica on the landing when four Talons caught up with them. In the dark confines of the stairs, Valeria had the advantage as she hurtled into the mercenaries, smashing at them with her armored limbs and slashing at exposed flesh with her talon-like nails. In seconds three of the Talons were dead and dying while the fourth ran for the door. Valeria let him go as she returned to Veronica and carried her to a dark, windowless office on the third floor.

"I'm going to try to talk to Calhoun." Valeria said quietly, jerking Veronica back to the present.

"No you're not!" Veronica snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. "That bounty's for your head Val! They'll kill you as soon as you step out the door!"

"I won't just walk out Ronnie." Valeria replied as she continued to hold Veronica's gaze with her own. "I'll offer him a trade. Me without a struggle in return for your freedom."

"The hell you will!" Veronica hissed in mounting rage tinged with fear. She could smell blood on the big woman, and suspected that Valeria had just fed on the bodies she'd left on the stairs. Valeria's sense of self-worth hung by a thread at the best of times, and it was always at its lowest when she was forced to satisfy her ghastly cravings.

"You're not going to sacrifice yourself for me!" Veronica snapped as she glared furiously at Valeria until her friend looked away in shame. After a moment, Veronica spoke again, her voice low and urgent.

"We've had more than our share of bad luck on this venture, but that's just how it is. This is not your fault, and you're not going to atone for anything by getting yourself killed. Either we get out of this together, or we make a stand here. No matter what I'm not leaving you, clear?"

Valeria sighed and nodded before standing up. "I'll go check the windows again, maybe Talon Company got careless now that they...know we're trapped."

"Good idea." Veronica agreed with a nod as she gritted her teeth and began to push herself to her feet.

Outside the Town Hall, Calhoun glared furiously at Mason while Wilson stood just behind him with his hand near his holster. Calhoun had driven the fusion locomotive to Nipton in what he had planned to be a triumphant testament to his dream and his will to make it a reality. Instead he had lost his entire Securitron escort, with the only explanation being that his "project" was no longer a priority. Then he had received a terse radio message from Mason cautioning that although Nipton had been secured, the Town Hall was now unavailable. Calhoun's anger had grown as the train moved at the phenomenal post-apocalypse speed of thirty miles an hour. He was seething with rage by the time he reached Nipton to find the Town Hall under siege by Talon Company.

"That bounty, Valeria blundered into town while we were still securing it." Mason explained with his arms crossed defiantly and his face expressionless. "My men were out on patrol and searching houses when she ran into one of my squads. By the time I got here she killed four of my men and holed up in the Hall."

"One mutant killed four of the most vicious killers in the wastes?" Calhoun sneered incredulously.

"She attacked my men in darkness and in close confines." Mason said, his face impassive although anger flared in his eyes. "All she had to do was hit anything that moved while my men had to keep from shooting each other."

"I'm not interested in excuses 'son'." Calhoun grated as he angrily bit the end of a cigar and spat it to the side. "I want to know what you plan to do to get back my headquarters."

"Simple." Mason replied as he glared at Calhoun while the Baron lit the end of his cigar with a match.

"Now that I have heavy armor and night-vision, I'm going to send in my close-combat specialists and claim the bounty."

As if in emphasis, one of the Talons pressed the trigger on a Ripper, creating a high-pitched whine as its bladed chain spun on the heavy blade.

"It shouldn't take more than a minute, and there will be minimal damage to your 'headquarters'." Mason said with a fierce grin as he turned away from Calhoun and began to bark orders at his black armored soldiers. Calhoun turned to look back at the Town Hall, his arms crossed as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. He was so close to realizing his dream, it was almost as if fate was conspiring to take away his moment of triumph. Suddenly there was movement from the ruins to the east, and Calhoun turned to see another group of mercenaries, their armor covered with dust almost dragging an unarmored man toward Mason.

"What the hell is this?" Mason snapped as he stepped before the squad and seized the prisoner's chin in his gauntleted fist, jerking his dark face up into the dying afternoon light. The man was older and clearly in a bad way with cracked lips and dried blood smeared over his face.

"We found this asshole in an old Legion safe-house up in the hills." One of the mercs growled. "We would have left him up there but he said House lost a bunch of Securitrons in Searchlight last night."

"Is that true?" Mason growled at the prisoner who seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness.

"Very...true." The prisoner said with a cough that spattered Mason's armor with fresh blood. "House has...retreated." The prisoner coughed again as he wheezed for breath. "You are...alone."

"Retreated from what?" Mason snarled as the prisoner sagged in his captor's grip as he lost consciousness. "Secure him in one of the houses." Mason snapped as he jerked his hand from the prisoner's face. "We'll interrogate him after we finish here."

As the prisoner was dragged away, Calhoun scowled as Mason turned to prepare his men for an assault. Calhoun had been angered and mystified by the abrupt departure of the Securitrons, but now he reconsidered the event in light of what the prisoner had revealed. Could it be that the Mojave had been invaded? If so, what force had the firepower to destroy an army of Mark II Securitrons? Calhoun frowned as he looked east toward the town of Searchlight. Mason clearly didn't regard the prisoner's news as an immediate concern, but he also hadn't seen the Securitrons heading north toward New Vegas.

"Sniper's on the windows!" Mason shouted at the men he had positioned on the rooftops as the heavily armored talons began to advance on the Town Hall. "Aim low or we don't collect!"

Suddenly there was a flash of red light as a sphere of red fire arced into the darkening eastern sky. It was followed by another and another until five glowing spheres were sputtering and hissing as they fell toward the ground.

"What the hell?" Mason exclaimed as there was a moment of deafening silence. Then there was a loud crack and one of the Talon Company sniper's head exploded. More shots rang out as the snipers tried to dive for cover as bullets strafed their exposed positions. Before Mason could shout an order, green fire and red flashes lit the hills beyond where Calhoun's train sat as a swarm of dark figures ran headlong down the steep slope. The mercenaries guarding the train began to fire at the mass of crimson figures, but it was too late as the Marked Men swarmed over their positions.

Mason was a hardened veteran and a survivor of countless battles across the wastes, as were his men. He only hesitated a second before raising his plasma rifle and roaring.

"Talon Company!"

His men took up the shout as they charged at the mass of howling mutants, filling the air with energy blasts and the roar of combat.

Calhoun ducked as something flew over his head, followed by a smoky explosion that sent the Baron sprawling in the dirt. His ears ringing, Calhoun tried to get to his feet but felt as if he was trying to move underwater. Then Wilson was at his side, blood running down his face and his glasses gone. Seizing his employer's arm, Wilson tried to drag Calhoun toward cover. Then out of the smoke a blood-red apparition wearing rags and scraps of metal ran howling at the gunman with a huge sword of crudely hammered steel. As calmly as if at target practice, Wilson drew and shot the mutant in his nose-less face, blowing his brains out the back of his head. He flipped his pistol back into its holster and bend to seize Calhoun's arm when the blade of a knife erupted from his sternum. Wilson's eyes went wide and blood burst from his mouth as the knife was withdrawn and he slumped to his knees. Calhoun sat stunned as there was a flash of white and Wilson's headless corpse toppled forward, showering Calhoun with blood.

Calhoun gaped at a giant white-haired woman, her eyes wild with fury as she bared her fangs in a shriek. Calhoun knew there was no escape and howled in defiant rage as the woman raised her knife and tensed to leap. Then there was a rush of movement as something huge hurtled over Calhoun and smashed into the mutant, hurling her into a ruined wall that shattered under the impact. Calhoun scrambled to his feet and stared in stunned amazement as his attacker climbed out of the ruin to face her near identical twin.

"Valeria!" The first woman hissed as her taloned fingers hooked like claws.

"This stops now Vera!" Valeria shouted as she clenched her huge fists. In reply Vera screamed and hurled herself at Valeria, knocking her to the ground as she shrieked and clawed at her face.

Suddenly there was a sharp explosion behind Calhoun who whirled in time to see a Marked Man sprawl to the ground with the back of his head crushed.

"Come on you idiot!" Shouted a scarred young woman in a hooded robe and a ballistic fist. With a start Calhoun suddenly saw the energy blasts flying about them as Talon Company and the Marked Men battled in the street. The young woman shoved Calhoun toward a fallen tree, and then staggered about and leveled a plasma pistol at Vera's back. Before she could fire Vera reared back and whirled flinging Valeria through the porch supports of another house. The wood shattered from the impact bringing the porch down on top of Valeria in a shower of rotting shingles. Valeria tumbled clear, using her momentum to somersault to her feet in time to again get tackled by Vera.

Veronica swore as the two women hurtled across the crumbling street and smashed through the wall of the Nipton Trading Post. Realizing there was no way she could intervene without possibly shooting her friend, Veronica ducked as another explosion showered her with dirt and chunks of asphalt. Looking for Calhoun, Veronica saw him taking cover behind the dead tree. As bursts of plasma seared the air over her head, Veronica limped as fast as she could to join him.

Mason was lost in the red fury of combat as he hacked at the howling mutants with a bowie knife in one hand, and blasting point-blank with a plasma pistol in the other. The marked men were fighting like rabid animals, using hatred and their regenerating flesh to ignore wounds that weren't instantly fatal. However, Talon Company was more heavily armored, and thanks to the previous battles at Primm and Searchlight the Marked Men had less ammunition. As they emptied their weapons, the Marked Men attacked howling with whatever weapon they could seize. Some managed to close with the mercenaries, but most were gunned down by disciplined return fire. Mason finally wrenched his knife out of the neck of a mutant and glared about other enemies. All he saw were tangled bodies and smoke from dozens of small fires set by energy blasts. Then an inhuman shriek tore through the air from the direction of the Town Hall.

"Follow me!" Mason roared as he wiped the blood from his eyes. He then turned to a group of Talons that were beginning to follow him.

"Make sure those fuckers stay dead!" He shouted before turning and running toward the last place he had seen his employer. He had just reached what was once main street when another shriek was followed by a crash as two bloody, near-naked giants exploded through a window of the Trading Post and landed in the street.

"Kill them!" Mason snarled as he raised his pistol.

"Stand down Mason!" Calhoun shouted as he stood from behind the tree he had taken cover behind. His hat was gone and his thinning hair was wild in the evening wind, but he strode toward the Mercenaries with an unshakable air of confident authority.

"Why?" Mason growled without lowering his weapon.

"Because I'm paying your caps!" Calhoun snapped.

"Mason looked hard at the old man before finally shrugging and holstering his pistol. The mercenaries behind him lowered their weapons as well, and they turned to watch the final battle between two titans of the old world.

Valeria and Vera again stood locked with their hands clasped, straining with all their power against each other. This time with a scream of effort Valeria pulled back, jerking Vera off balance and then whirling to hurl her through a chain-link fence into the rusting remains of a trailer park. Vera rolled into a crouch and then glared, seeing for the first time that her army of Marked Men had been defeated.

"It's over Vera." Valeria said wearily as she stepped through the fence. "Don't make me kill you."

"Kill me?" Vera replied in confusion, and then began to laugh bitterly before whirling and leaping into the gathering darkness. Surprised, Valeria hesitated a second before leaping in pursuit.

"Those freaks killed over half my men." Mason said with deadly calm as he turned to face Calhoun. "So why stop me?"

"Because I owe my life to one of those mutants and this woman here." Calhoun gestured toward Veronica who stood with her arms crossed and her chin raised defiantly. "And John T. Calhoun always pays his debts."

"So what now 'boss'?" Mason snarled as he looked over the battered remains of his force.

"We regroup and protect the train in case there are more of those freaks out there." Calhoun then nodded toward Veronica. "And put her with the other prisoner."

In the hills high above Nipton, Vera clapped her hands to her head and shrieked as the walls Ulysses had created to hold back the madness collapsed. She had no destination or plan for escape as she had leaped and scrambled up the steep slopes while the whispers in her mind became shouts, and finally roars. Then suddenly one voice stilled all the others.

"I did it all for you Vera." Sinclair's voice whispered sadly.

"Sinclair?" Vera sobbed as she looked wildly about. "Sinclair!"

"Vera." Said a new voice, and Vera looked down the narrow path to see the bloodied form of Valeria, her eyes filled with inexplicable sadness.

"Why are you here?" Vera sobbed as she backed up the trail. "Where is Sinclair?"

"He's...gone Vera." Valeria replied hesitantly as she took a slow step forward.

"Don't call me that!" Vera suddenly shrieked as she covered her ears. "Vera belonged to Dean! My name is..." Vera's mouth opened, and then her eyes widened with shocked realization. "Its gone! He took my name!"

"Who did Vera?" Valeria asked as she cautiously stepped closer. Before Vera could reply there was a flash from the west as if from a new sunrise. Valeria turned and stared in shock at the colossal fireball rising into the sky above the mountains, the rumble of the explosion already rippling through the air as it built in volume.

"Ulysses!" Vera screamed as she glared wildly at the figure standing before her, his arms folded and his dreadlocks still in the sudden wind.

"You took my name!" Vera shrieked at the apparition back-lit against the atomic fireball lighting the night sky. Ulysses didn't reply, only staring at her with dark expressionless eyes that said nothing and everything. Screaming hysterically, Vera lunged slashing at Ulysses, only to find nothing but air as he vanished, leaving her to plummet over the cliff.

"Vera!" Valeria cried as the rumble of the atomic detonation roared about her. Lunging forward, Valeria fell to her hands and knees and looked over the side for any sign of Vera. Just below she could see Vera's face, pallid in the dying light as the woman clung to a rock outcropping, her legs swinging below her.

"Take my hand!" Valeria cried as she lay flat on the trail and stretched her arm toward Vera.

"Valeria?" Vera asked in confusion as she looked up into Valeria's eyes. In that instant, Valeria knew that she was talking to the real Vera Keyes, the woman long-buried under lies, manipulation, and madness.

"I've done terrible things Valeria." Vera said as tears began to fill her eyes. "Why do you care?"

"We didn't ask to become what we are." Valeria replied urgently. "Please take my hand!"

"We were both created by Sinclair." Vera said with a sad smile. "But whatever the result, he did it for love."

"Vera, please!" Valeria cried as she leaned further over the ledge as she strained to reach Vera.

"You are what I could have been." Vera said as tears ran freely down her cheeks. "...When will we find that we know..."

"Vera!" Valeria shouted as she tried to reach the last few inches.

"...To let go." Vera whispered as she released her grip and vanished into the darkness.

Valeria squeezed her eyes shut to blot out the sight of Vera's face as she slipped away. Then she pushed herself back from the ledge and looked up at the mushroom cloud slowly fading into the night sky.


	9. Chapter 9

Major Polatli glanced up from his unfinished report as a savage gust of wind shook the walls of his headquarters in the remains of the old Hopeville Missile Base. The wind blew constantly in the Divide, and in the week he and his men had been in Hopeville he had almost become oblivious to its constant moaning. Polatli looked grimly about his office in what was once the reception area. His men had attempted to clear the filth and litter left by the Marked Men, but even now he could still detect the faint odors of blood and rot. It was worse in the barracks his men were trying to refurbish, so he could take some solace in that his rank permitted him slightly better accommodations.

Polatli looked back at his report and then pushed it away with a sneer of disgust. Ever since Bravo company had pushed on to the Divide Highway, he had been able to do nothing but wait helplessly for word. For a while they had been able to keep up radio contact, but that quickly ceased and now all his radio operators did was listen to static for hours on end. Polatli stood from his desk with a grunt of frustration and glared at the thick shadows outside the pool of light from his generator driven lamp.

The NCR had just negotiated a treaty with House when the Legion appeared out of the western wastes. As soon as the NCR realized that they faced a significant threat, then President Kimball began sending troops to reinforce the Mojave. The process was painfully slow due to there only being two passes through the Sierra's to the Mojave wasteland, but everything changed when a Courier emerged from a route the NCR never knew existed. The Courier had marked his trail with a series of symbols resembling the flag of old America. When NCR rangers followed them, they discovered a community of rugged survivalists living among the ruins of the old Ashton missile base. Realizing the strategic value of controlling a direct route to the Mojave, the NCR immediately sent troops to annex the settlement and take control of the shattered highways.

Then came reports that Legion infiltrators had arrived with orders to cut off the supply line. A bloody guerrilla war erupted which ended abruptly when an unknown disaster tore the earth apart and swallowed up the armies of both sides. Unwilling to give up the Divide, the NCR continued to send in soldiers for a time, and the few who returned announced that the passes were sealed, and now defended by hideously mutilated survivors of both the NCR and the Legion armies. The war with the Legion was now engaged in earnest, and the NCR abandoned the Divide, deliberately burying the casualties in reports from the war on the banks of the Colorado. Once the Legion was defeated by House, there was no longer a reason to seek another route, and the Divide was forgotten.

All of that changed when an army of Marked Men attacked the Mojave followed by an atomic detonation somewhere in the Divide. The Marked Men were defeated by mercenaries hired by Calhoun, but the NCR couldn't leave an atomic threat within sight of Shady Sands unanswered. NCR troops moved surreptitiously into the Mojave, using the only access left to enter the Divide. When they reached the ruins of Hopeville, Polatil moved to set up a base camp as Bravo Company went on into the twisting maze of canyons ripped through the earth. There had been no sign of the Marked Men, although the grim reminders of their presence lay strewn everywhere. Polatil found it unsettling to see what former soldiers of the NCR had been reduced to, and he and his men found themselves watching the burning sky as if the Divide was a great beast waiting for the moment to pounce. Their almost impossible logistical and strategic position gave the Hopeville Base an unofficial nickname by the men under his command.

Camp Forlorn Hope.

Suddenly the door banged open, and a soldier, anonymous in goggles and a face-wrap stood back-lit by the orange light of the sun as a cloud of dust swirled about him.

"Sir!" The soldier snapped with a quick salute. "We've captured two prisoners from the Mojave!"

"What?" Polatli snapped in surprise as he automatically acknowledged the salute. Aside from their infrequent resupply caravans, nobody traveled into the Divide. The soldier who Polatli recognized as private Stone, stepped back from the door and gestured toward the office with his rifle. Two figures stepped out of the choking wind followed by another soldier. One was clearly a woman wearing a heavy robe with her head protected by a hood, goggles, and a face-wrap. The other had to duck her head to enter the door, and Polatli stared in astonishment. She was huge, her gender only apparent due to the minimal protection given by her spiked armor. She also wore goggles and a face wrap, but he could see eyes as white as her shock of hair gleaming at him through the dust steaked lenses. He also saw the handle of a super sledge over her left shoulder.

"Why are they still armed Private?" He snapped at Stone who glanced nervously at the giant woman standing calmly before him as the door banged shut.

"We're not here to make any trouble." The smaller woman answered as she slowly pulled her wrap away from her face, revealing heavy scars disfiguring her mouth and chin.

"Then why are you here?" Polatli growled as he rested a hand on his pistol. "The Divide is under NCR control, and you are in a restricted area."

"You call this controlled?" The woman replied with a smirk as her huge companion also slowly pulled the bandanna from her face.

"My name is Valeria and this is Veronica." The big woman said quietly with a nod toward her companion. "We're following a man called Ulysses."

"Ulysses?" Polatli asked with a frown, surprised at Valeria's calm candor.

"A former Frumentarius." Valeria replied as she slowly lowered her hand to avoid alarming Polatli and his men. "He sent the Marked Men into the Mojave, and we believe he is the one who launched the nuclear weapon."

"And how do you know this?" Polatli growled, his skepticism clear in his voice.

"I got it from the deathbed confession of a courier named Karl." The woman called Veronica replied, scowling as she crossed her arms. "He was taken prisoner by the Marked Men and escaped while they were kicking House's ass." She shrugged before adding. "Between radiation poisoning and extreme overexertion, it looked like his heart gave out."

"And this 'Karl' just happened to confide in you?" Polatli asked incredulously. He was not inclined to believe anything the odd pair said, but Veronica had mentioned details about events that weren't yet common knowledge. In spite of himself, the Major was curious about what the two women had to say, although he had not intention of letting them know that.

"It turned out the bastard was a Frumentarius." Veronica growled as her eyes flashed with genuine hatred. "He knew he was dying, and he was so obsessed with completing his mission that he told me everything he knew."

"And his mission was...?" Polatli asked impatiently.

"To find Ulysses and kill him." Veronica replied with a shrug. "It looks like Inculta doesn't like renegade Frumentarii, and Karl believed Ulysses wanted to use weapons from the Divide to destroy the Legion, House, and the NCR."

"And you believed him?"

"Given what the Legion thinks of women." Veronica snarled. "He had to be fucking desperate to tell me what he knew."

"I also heard the name Ulysses from the...mutant who led the Marked Men." Valeria added, her eyes haunted by a strange sadness.

Polatli scowled silently at the two women as he considered their story. The idea that a renegade Frumentarius was trying to turn the Divide against the NCR was ridiculous, yet what they said matched with the few facts he knew, as well as explaining the absence of the Marked Men. Before he could think of a reply, the door again banged open revealing another soldier.

"Sir...!" He began to shout before falling silent in astonishment as he looked up at the huge woman standing before him.

"What is it private?" Polatil snapped impatiently.

"Trooper Gleeson's back Sir!" The soldier replied as he saluted automatically. "She's in bad shape but she's demanding to report to you!"

"Take me there!" Polatli barked as he pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes.

"Sir?" Private Stone interrupted as he pointed his rifle uncertainly at Valeria and Veronica.

"Bring them along!" Polatli snapped impatiently. "If they do anything but breathe, shoot them!"

Private Stone looked up at Valeria and tried to look stern as he gestured with his rifle toward the door. Valeria merely nodded in reply as she followed Veronica outside.

It was early morning, but the orange haze made it look like late afternoon. The small group made their way through clouds of blowing dust under the shadowed hulks of shattered overpasses and crumbled buildings. They had reached a line of buildings with almost intact facades except for the hulks of cars scattered about like discarded toys. A cluster of tan uniformed soldiers were almost invisible in the hissing dust clouds as they stood in a ring around Richardson, the camp's doctor as he crouched over his patient.

"Stand aside!" Polatli snapped as he pushed his way through his soldiers. "What's her condition doctor?" He demanded of the spectacled physician as he looked up from his work.

"She's suffering from radiation poisoning and exposure." Richardson replied brusquely. "And she has wounds that could be septic. I need to get her to the infirmary now."

"Major." Trooper Gleeson gasped as she tried to prop herself up. Polatli waved the doctor back and knelt at Gleeson's side.

"Where is Bravo company?" He demanded, trying to focus the soldier's attention as she clearly fought to stay conscious.

"All dead sir..." Gleeson gasped as she closed her eyes and gulped for air.

"What happened soldier?" Polatli demanded as he and the other soldiers leaned closer to hear her voice over the moaning wind.

"The launch was from...Ashton silo." Gleeson replied as she forced her eyes open. "Flags marked the way...I don't know...why. The missile blew open a...canyon not on our maps." Gleeson took a deep shuddering breath to rally herself, and then spoke with greater urgency. "It was full of...Marked Men and a...giant Deathclaw. We tried to advance, but the radiation was...healing them. Only a few of us were left when...Lieutenant Monroe ordered a...retreat. We were clear...then someone from the cliffs started picking us off. I was the only one...left and I saw..." Gleeson's eyes closed as she appeared to lose consciousness.

"Saw what, soldier!" Polatli roared as the doctor felt for Gleeson's pulse as he glared at the Major. Gleeson's eyes opened again and she swallowed hard before she whispered.

"He let me live...wanted me to see...had a flag on his...back." Gleeson went limp and the doctor pushed Polatil away as he ordered the soldiers to help him carry her back to the infirmary.

As Gleeson was carried away, Polatli glared into the murk as he considered the implications of what he'd heard. If the trooper was correct, than Bravo company had been wiped out, and his meager detachment represented all the NCR had left to deal with what waited out in the Divide.

"We were told that Ulysses wears the flag of Old America on his back." Veronica voice said from behind the Major. Polatil turned around to see the scarred woman staring at him with her arms folded defiantly.

"He also marks his trails with the same symbol." She added before waiting silently for the Major's reply.

"We are running out of time." Valeria suddenly added with quiet urgency. "I know you have no reason to trust us, but you don't have any choice. By the time the NCR responds it will be too late."

"And how do I know you aren't working with Ulysses?" Polatli growled.

"Ulysses has already launched one nuclear weapon." Valeria said with a sigh. "How could we make things any worse?"

"You heard what Gleeson said." Polatli replied wearily as he allowed his fatigue to finally show. "What that nuke unleashed wiped out an entire company of NCR soldiers and rangers. Why would you even try to go in there?"

"Because there's no one else." Valeria said simply. Polatli stared at Valeria thoughtfully as he considered her workds. Then finally he began to speak slowly as if thinking out loud.

"I heard a rumor that some sort of supermutant got House's army online, and then took on Legate Lanius in the battle for New Vegas." He looked up into Valeria's face for a moment and then shrugged.

"You're right. I have nothing to gain by detaining you, so you're free to go."

"Can you spare any supplies?" Veronica asked as she shot a glance Polatli couldn't read at Valeria. "Even if it is a suicide mission, every little bit helps."

"These men will take you to Quartermaster Mayes." Polatli replied with a nod toward the two soldiers who remained. "He'll give you what we can spare."

"Thank you sir." Valeria said with a nod before turning and following the soldiers.

Polatli shook his head as he watched the two women vanish into the ruins. He would ask for more troops from HQ, but the big mutant was right when she said they were running out of time. Then he looked grimly toward the partly collapsed freeway tunnel leaving Hopeville. Once it was part of the only route through the Divide, but now it was known by another name.

The Lonesome Road.

And somewhere on the other side of that forsaken expanse, a madman named Ulysses was waiting.


	10. Chapter 10

"I think we'll be safe here for the night." Valeria said as reassuringly as she could as she and Veronica huddled at the back of an ancient truck that had been flung against a cliff. Veronica didn't answer as she leaned her head back against the rusting steel wall as it vibrated from the constant buffeting of the wind. The two women had pressed on from Hopeville as soon as they received a meager allotment of supplies, making their torturous way through the collapsed freeway tunnel leading to the Lonesome Road. Once they emerged into the dim sunlight, they had stopped in awe at the magnitude of the journey before them.

The Lonesome Road was a massive freeway that had once run through the center of Hopeville on towering concrete pillars. Now the crumbling ruin was flanked by shattered skyscrapers, some sheared off by the cataclysm that created the Divide and now forming huge arches of decaying glass and steel over the ancient road. It was an awe-inspiring testament to the power of Old America, and the fury that had been unleashed upon it. Knowing that the Lonesome Road ended at the outskirts of the Ashton missile base, Valeria and Veronica began the long journey through the ruins, carefully avoiding spikes of rebar as they navigated through a maze of wrecked vehicles while the howling wind threatened to hurl them into the canyons below.

Veronica never complained, and in fact she had hardly spoken to Valeria since their escape from Nipton. Calhoun had proven as good as his word and he allowed the two women to leave as soon as Valeria returned from the hills. Talon Company had been victorious, but the cost had been high and the mercenaries were clearly reluctant to let their bounty walk away. Once they were clear of the town, Veronica told Valeria what she had learned from Karl before he died, her anger clear in the terse answers she gave to Valeria's questions. Even as they had journeyed to Hopeville Veronica said little, and Valeria didn't press for an explanation, although her friend's angry silence hurt and confused her.

Finally the sullen orange sky began to darken as evening approached, and the two women could see the rocky hills marking the end of the Lonesome Road. Veronica finally spoke, suggesting they stop as it would soon be too dark to travel. Valeria could hear the weariness in Veronica's voice, and promptly led them to a wrecked trailer.

"I'll take the first watch." Valeria finally said, hoping to break the silence between them.

"Of course you will." Veronica replied sarcastically without opening her eyes. "You don't need to sleep. In fact, I bet you don't need to stop at all."

"Ronnie?" Valeria asked in confusion.

"I saw you kill a Yao Gui with your bare hands!" Veronica snapped as she opened her eyes and turned to glare at Valeria. "Yet you gave up as soon as those sentries challenged us!"

"Those soldiers were just doing their jobs." Valeria replied with a frown. "I wasn't going to kill them just because they were in my way. Besides..." Valeria's voice trailed off as she reconsidered what she was about to say next.

"I was with you and I'm not bulletproof." Veronica finished with a glare. "You did the same thing at Indian Springs, and at Furnace Creek. I don't need you to keep taking the fall for me Val!"

"I heal faster than you do." Valeria pointed out, still bewildered at the source of Veronica's anger. "I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"So why did you leave me behind at Nipton and go chasing off after Vera?" Veronica demanded with a glare. "We didn't know Calhoun was going to rein those bastards in, yet you left me there!"

"Ronnie...I..." Valeria stammered as she looked away in shame from Veronica's angry stare.

"Why did you do it Val!" Veronica demanded.

"I..." Valeria stammered helplessly as she tried to think of an answer. She had been wondering the same thing, and had spent most of their journey to the Divide trying to think of an explanation. Knowing that Veronica wasn't going to accept silence as an answer, Valeria began to speak, choosing her words carefully.

"I've been alone my entire life." Valeria finally said as she looked up at the night sky through a rent in the trailer's roof. "Even in the Vault, everyone treated me as a freak they tolerated only because of my father. The only friend I had suffered because of her association with me, and when I tried to stand up for her, things only got worse." Valeria lowered her gaze to the floor, her mouth set in a grim line as she revisited memories she had tried so long to forget.

"I wasn't as...different as I am now, but I still looked strange enough for everyone to treat me as a mutant freak. The other girls were hoping to have families one day, and I knew I never would. There would never be someone willing to share their life with me, and I would never have children." Valeria fell silent for a moment, as Veronica watched her from the darkness, her mouth still set in an angry frown, but her eyes softening slightly as she listened.

"Then I had to leave the only world I knew, and I mutated even more. I couldn't hide how different I was from anyone anymore, especially myself." Valeria sighed heavily as she drew her knees up to her chest and clasped her hands over them. "I've been told that my DNA has a quadruple helix structure like supermutants, which means I can't become pregnant." Valeria sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before continuing.

"It's not like there were any opportunities anyway. Everyone I met was either terrified of me, or disgusted."

"There had to be people willing to see past how you look." Veronica said softly as her friend's obvious misery began to cool her anger.

"There were some." Valeria said with another loud sniff. "But you know what I have to do to live. It was only a matter of time before they found out." The two women sat silently as the realization of how alienated Valeria was began to sink in.

"When I saw Vera in Nipton..." Valeria began to say in a slow, halting voice. "...After she had been beaten, for a moment she looked...lost." Valeria looked away from Veronica and again stared at the night sky. "It was as if I was looking at myself...and I didn't think." Valeria closed her eyes as she lowered her head in misery. "I'm so sorry Ronnie."

Veronica stared at Valeria for a moment in unexpected sympathy before finally asking. "What happened next?'

Valeria sighed and turned to meet her friend's gaze. "She was confused and hallucinating. She said that Ulysses had taken her name, and then she...jumped."

"I thought you killed her."

"No." Valeria replied shaking her head sadly. "I tried to save her, but she wouldn't let me."

"She said Ulysses took her name?"

"I'm not sure what she meant." Valeria admitted. "But what Vera did in the Mojave didn't seem...right somehow. In the Sierra Madre, she was angry and confused but not nearly so...focused."

"You think Ulysses did something to her?"

Valeria nodded as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Vera and I were both created by Sinclair's obsession. Vera lost everything including her humanity and the only world she knew. Whatever life she could have had, Ulysses took it from her."

"And you can't help but sympathize." Veronica observed with a sigh. "I'm sorry Val. If anyone should know how crazy being alone can make you, it's me."

"I'm sorry too Ronnie." Valeria said with a sad smile at her friend.

"I forgive you, you big idiot." Veronica replied with a weary grin as she reached out to touch Valeria's cheek with the back of her hand. "But next time think before you leap, okay?"

"Okay Ronnie." Valeria said as she gently took Veronica's hand in hers. The two women sat in silence for a time with only the sound of the wind hissing overhead. Valeria thought Veronica had fallen asleep when she suddenly spoke.

"Do you think we have any chance of stopping him Val?"

"I don't know." Valeria replied with a frown. "I can't make sense of what Gleeson told us. Ulysses wanted her to know who he was, and he wanted her to report back. It's as if he wants someone to try to stop him, but that doesn't make any sense."

"Karl said he had listened to Holotapes hidden at Wolfhorn ranch." Veronica said thoughtfully as she stroked Valeria's palm with her fingertips. "He said those tapes proved that Ulysses wants revenge against the Legion for the destruction of his tribe, and against the NCR for what happened in the Divide. Gleeson said that Ulysses was in the old Ashton site, and I remember from Elijah's notes that he believed there were atomic weapons stored there."

"Why did Elijah ignore the Divide then?" Valeria asked as she looked down at their clasped hands.

"Elijah wanted to wipe the slate clean." Veronica replied with a sigh. "But he wanted to keep the infrastructure. I think he felt the Sierra Madre offered a more attractive option."

"So Ulysses has all the power he needs for revenge, but he's not doing anything." Valeria frowned in frustration as she looked at the wall of the trailer, as if she could read Ulysses intentions there.

"So can we stop him?" Veronica asked quietly.

"I don't know Ronnie." Valeria replied somberly as she turned to look into her friend's eyes. "But there are so many innocent lives at stake, I have to try."

"Nobody knows we're out here." Veronica pointed out. "There won't be any parades in our honor if we manage to stop Ulysses, and if we die..." Veronica released Valeria's hand and stared glumly at the steel floor. "...Nobody will care."

"I've tried to prove myself again and again." Valeria said sadly. "The few times I managed to do anything, nobody knew about it. I know I'll never be accepted anywhere, so I don't do things for the recognition, or because I have a...death wish."

"So why do you?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." Valeria replied simply. "And to prove to myself that I'm not a monster."

"That's all?" Veronica asked with a half-smile.

"I'm also doing it for...Vera." Valeria added hesitantly with nervous glance at Veronica.

"Vera?" Veronica retorted with a frown.

"She was the only other person on Earth like me." Valeria replied sadly. "She died alone and forgotten...like I'll probably be." Anger flashed across Valeria's face as she said with unexpected emotion. "Ulysses took whatever chance she had for a life from her, and I want him to answer for it!"

"Oh." Was all Veronica could say as Valeria revealed for an instant the depth of the pain and anger she had buried deep inside her.

"I don't expect you to understand." Valeria said with a sigh as she looked away. "But I have to try."

"I think I do understand." Veronica said with a sad smile. "I felt the same way about Elijah in spite of everything he had done."

"You need to sleep Ronnie." Valeria said gently as she looked into her friend's face and saw the weariness etched there.

"I will Val, but only if you hold me." And to emphasize her words Veronica pressed up against Valeria's side. Valeria smiled in reply as she placed her huge arms around Veronica in a firm embrace.

"I love you Valeria." Veronica whispered without looking up. "And I'll never leave you."

"I...love you too Veronica." Valeria replied, her voice hoarse with emotion.

"That's the...first time you've...said that." Veronica replied softly as her eyes closed in exhaustion.

"It's...really nice...to...hear."

Valeria held Veronica tightly as her even breathing showed that she had fallen into a deep sleep. Tears were running down Valeria's cheeks as watched Veronica while the wind howled about them.

The wind was still blowing as Veronica woke with a start, the gray light of morning filtering into the dim interior of the trailer. She was immediately aware of what had awakened her. The reassuring pressure of Valeria's embrace was gone...

...as was Valeria.

It only took Veronica a moment to find that half of their provisions were gone, as were their few doses of Rad-X and Rad Away. Veronica knew that Valeria was almost immune to radiation, and that she had taken the medication to prevent Veronica from following her. Crying tears of rage and frustration, Veronica ran out of their crude shelter and glared furiously at the jagged peaks rising before her.

"Valeria!" She screamed into the teeth of the howling wind. There was no reply, and Veronica didn't expect one. Unimpeded by Veronica's human frailties, Valeria would be long gone as she set a pace only she could sustain.

"Damn you!" Veronica shrieked as tears cut channels through the dust covering her cheeks. The only answer was a savage gust of wind that almost knocked Veronica down, as if the Divide was mocking her. Finally Veronica stood alone on the vast roadway, sobbing in defeat as she was forced to accept that Valeria was gone.

And there was nothing she could do.


	11. Chapter 11

Valeria ran through a twisted maze of shattered earth and toppled buildings at a pace only she could keep up under a sullen orange sky. At first, she had been nearly blinded by tears as she put as much distance between herself and her sleeping friend as she could, convinced she was doing the right thing and hating herself for it. It hadn't taken long for her to find the silo the missile had been launched from, in the middle of a concrete crater seared by intense heat. The road stopped at the ruins of the bunker, and Valeria had looked about in despair for another path when she spotted a flash of white through the dust filled haze. It proved to be a sign spray-painted on a slab of concrete, showing a circle of stars around a central star with stripes extending below like streamers. Valeria had stared at the symbol, recognizing the flag of old America and remembering what Trooper Gleeson had seen after the ambush. Ulysses had marked his trail, and Valeria knew she had no choice but to follow his signs wherever they led. Spurred by urgency made sharper by guilt, Valeria set off at an almost reckless pace, climbing steep slopes formed by skyscrapers sunk into the earth, and leaping yawning chasms between the severed expanses of ancient highways. The cataclysm that created the Divide had ripped canyons out of the earth, filling them with ruin as the remnants of old America slid into the abyss.

Soon Valeria began to see signs of habitation as she passed crude camps reeking of blood and decay, dotted by huts built of stones and chunks of concrete that looked more like cairns then dwellings. She hadn't seen any more Marked Men, but Valeria moved as high as she could to avoid detection while still being able to find Ulysses' markers. It wasn't long after she had climbed into a lattice of steel girders when she saw the Deathclaws. Three of the giant mutants were traveling hunched over, their elongated arms holding their huge talons as if waiting to pounce. Their eyes burned with malign cunning as they swung their massive fanged snouts side to side with their nostrils flaring. Valeria froze in her climb, hoping she was too high for them to catch her scent. Valeria had faced Deathclaws before, and knew that against three she had no chance, especially trapped in mid-air. For a tense moment the mutants stopped while one raised its head and growled, its nostrils flaring. Then it looked away with a snarl and the mutants continued prowling the canyon while Valeria held her breath until they were out of sight.

After that, Valeria began to move more cautiously as the dark streamers of debris blowing across the sky began to darken as the wind began to howl louder. Ulysses' markers continued to lead Val deeper into the devastation, past a lake formed by a column of water roaring from a massive pipe, and under a vast overhang of painted asphalt, the faint road markings still visible overhead. The sky begun to change from orange to an eerie green, and Valeria's skin began to prickle as her metabolism reacted to higher levels of radiation. After near constant roaring, the wind had fallen silent in the thick, feverishly hot air and Valeria knew she had finally reached ground zero.

A wall of asphalt and concrete rose before her like a frozen tidal wave of destruction. The shadowed outlines of gutted skyscrapers loomed above the mountain of debris, just visible in the glowing haze. It was eerily quiet, and Valeria couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Ulysses' markers had led her to the edge of an atomic crater, and Valeria knew she had no choice but to brave what lay beyond. With her hammer held ready, Valeria began to carefully climb the barrier, weaving her way through a jagged forest of rebar and rusting steel girders as she slowly climbed to the top. Once there the wind again began to howl as if it was trying to push her back as she looked down into the crater. Before her lay utter devastation, as if the ground had been tossed like a blanket, leaving vehicles perched precariously atop buildings that had topped against each other forming a huge lattice of destruction. There was no way through but forward, and Valeria grimly began her descent. She had no Geiger counter, but she could tell by the feverish heat of her skin that she was being bombarded with radiation.

When her boots finally crunched into the crumbling concrete covering the bottom, Valeria froze as a cluster of blood-red flares fired into the sky from somewhere ahead of her. Valeria gripped her hammer and snarled with determination as she realized that against all reason, there was something waiting for her in the ruins. A moment later she saw movement from the corner of her eye, and she turned to see what was hidden in the ruins. It was a Marked Man, but unlike the ones she had seen at Nipton, this one was covered in jagged plates of steel, crudely hammered into shape and strapped over its exposed flesh. Only the lower half of the mutant's face was visible, and its yellow teeth bared in a snarl of hatred as he hefted an axe made of a circular saw blade lashed with cable to a twisted steel bar. Suddenly there was movement everywhere in the ruins as more Marked Men emerged from the rubble. All were heavily armored with plates of hammered steel, some with sign logos still visible. They were also armed with rifles, machine guns, and crude axes, maces and swords strapped to their bodies or gripped in their bloody fists.

A wave of despair swept over Valeria as she silently surveyed the growling swarm of mutants waiting for her. She had fought and survived terrible odds before, but nothing like what she faced now. There was no escape, and nowhere to go but forward through the wall of steel-clad mutants. Suddenly one of the Marked Men howled, the sound harsh as if the effort tore its larynx. Others began to take up the cry, brandishing their weapons as the sound echoed off the ruins. Valeria raised her hammer, and shrieked in reply to counter the fear gnawing at her mind. And then, with her cry still hanging in the air, Valeria launched herself forward into a whirlwind of blades, bullets, and blasts of energy.

Valeria fought with the fury of desperation, but it was only moments before she realized she was doomed. Her radiated flesh was healing from a multitude of injuries, but so was the exposed meat of the Marked Men. Her blows would hurl them broken and bleeding from her, but they would simply get back up, laughing ghastly laughter at their own pain as they charged again. Only a lethal blow stopped the mutants, and when one fell two more leaped forward to take its place. Valeria was covered with blood as the press of mutants finally pinned her arms and bore her to the ground where the last thing she saw was the jagged sole of a boot descending on her face, sending her into darkness in an explosion of pain.

The pain was still with her when Valeria regained consciousness to find herself lashed spread-eagle to a cross of telephone poles. She tasted blood, and one of her eyes was swollen shut as she painfully lifted her head to look up at the blood-red orb of the setting sun. Valeria winced at the pain of looking into the dying light, and slowly swung her head to one side to see where she was. The marked men had crucified her at the top of a ridge looking overlooking the Divide, the canyons almost hidden in clouds of blowing dust. To either side of her were more poles rammed into the earth, some with stained human bones hanging from them, the flesh completely stripped away. Valeria's muscles quivered with pain as she touched her cracked lips with her swollen tongue. Her body was healing from her injuries, but she could feel the pain of her hunger grow as it remained unsatisfied. If she didn't consume human flesh or plasma soon, she would probably be dead long before she died of thirst or exposure. Valeria's eyes began to sting as tears of hopelessness began to spill down her cheeks. Before, she had always managed to win as if the purity of her intentions lent her the strength to overcome all adversity. This time it hadn't been enough, and she knew she was going to die in the Divide. The only consolation she could had was the knowledge that Veronica wasn't with her to share her fate.

Suddenly there was a shimmer in the air before her and a man in heavy armor covered by a long black duster materialized before her. His face was hidden behind a breath mask, but Valeria could see his dark eyes glittering from beneath heavy black braids. The man stared at her calmly, with his arms folded as Valeria stared.

"Thought you were Vera." The man finally rumbled in a deep voice. "But your eyes are different."

"Ulysses." Valeria whispered, her voice hoarse and raw from thirst.

"That is the name I've taken." He replied. "You are the one who stood against the Legion." Valeria didn't reply, only staring at the man she had entered the Divide to find.

"You came far, farther than the Bear or the Bull did. But you're like them, can't move quiet. What flag drove you this far?"

"No...flag." Valeria gasped as she tried to understand Ulysses meaning. "What you did...to Vera. I can't let you...do to...anyone else."

"You answer for another." Ulysses replied with a nod. "Can respect that. But I did no wrong to Vera."

"You changed her!" Valeria managed to growl before a fit of coughing made her taste fresh blood.

"Changed her? No, gave her purpose. House, Domino, Sinclair all sides of the same soul. I showed her the way, it was Vera who followed the signs."

"She said you...took her name."

"That name was a lie, binding her to a lost past. She forgot it because she didn't know her own history."

The wind began to blow harder as blood-red clouds began seethed on the horizon. Ulysses continued to stare at Valeria, his eyes fathomless and unblinking.

"You stood against the Legion." He finally rumbled. "You left a mark for me to follow as clear as the flag I wear. I learned that one person can stand against the course of history, and change it. When I saw you crucified on the ridge, I wanted to know the why of what drove you here."

Ulysses stood and stared silently at Valeria for a moment before turning away, the wind causing his duster to billow behind him.

"Why?" Valeria croaked, and Ulysses looked back over his shoulder. "Why are you doing this?"

"You face your end and you want to know my history?" Ulysses turned to again face Valeria as he crossed his arms. "My tribe was among the first conquered by Caesar. Didn't know it at first. The Twisted Hairs believed Vulpes lies and thought we were respected as equals. After the Twisted Hairs became one with the Legion, I honored my vows to Caesar and served as his Frumentarius. I was the first of the Legion to see the Dam, and the first to see the Divide. I followed the winds to see where they led, and what I found here...changed me."

Valeria lifted her head and stared at Ulysses through her blood-caked bangs. The Frumentarius spoke in almost a monotone, but even though she was dizzy with pain, she could hear a change in his deep voice as he remembered the Divide.

"There were people here, among the ruins of old America. Tough, resourceful, bound by resolve to face and overcome adversity. They took America's banner as their own, but didn't follow its history, followed its ideal instead. A nation was being born here, free of the corruption of the NCR and the dogma of the Legion. For the first time since the Twisted Hairs fell to Vulpes lies, a found a place I could call home." Ulysses turned away from Valeria and looked out over the Divide, and at the oncoming storm.

"The Bear came, hungry for new territory and to claim the route to the Mojave that I marked. The Bull answered with soldiers, The people here caught between. They wanted to fight for what they had built, but history was against them. I decided to stand with them, offer my knowledge to maybe turn the tide. We went deep into the Divide, looking for answers in the old world. We found this place, a...temple to the fear and pride of old America, and found machines sleeping in the dark. They awoke, and the signals they sent drew the Bull and the Bear to this place, each determined to deny it to the other. Then, one of the machines spoke, and the Divide...answered." Ulysses fell silent for a moment as he bowed his head and relived the memory. Finally he turned and again faced Valeria.

"Should have died then. Would have, but the machines saved me. Probably recognized the symbol I wore and thought I was part of that lost world. I left the Divide, wandered without purpose for a time. Saw the Bear defeated at the Dam, then saw the Bull fall to House...and you. That was when I realized what my history would be. I would use the power of the old world to end them. Empty banners built on lies and greed. No future in the greed of the NCR, the inflexibility of the Bear, and the technology of House. I will give the Mojave a chance to create something new, maybe better from the ashes of the old flags."

"You're going the save the world...by destroying it?" Valeria gasped. "You're insane."

"Maybe." Ulysses replied without irony. "But the Mojave is already dying. Those that rule learned nothing from the past, and what happened to Old America will happen again, sooner or later. I offer mercy, and a chance to start over. I gave the Bull and the Bear the chance to defend their symbols, but history will be denied no longer."

"I'll stop you..." Valeria snarled as tears began to run down her cheeks.

"The Marked Men below us aren't like the ones Vera faced." Ulysses replied with a glance into the canyons. "They were the strongest the Bull and the Bear had, trapped here together and sustained by radiation and hate. You earned their hate, and so they staked you here, on the heights with the storms. The storms are the only thing they fear, the pain they bring is the Marked Men's only memory of what they once were. When the wind comes it will make you one of them, or it will strip the flesh from your bones. You will die either way. You have given me my answer, and now I will finish what I started when the giants awoke."

There was an electric crackle, and Ulysses vanished except for a shimmer which quickly vanished into the dust filled air.

"No!" Valeria screamed as she frantically pulled at the bindings holding her to the cross. She finally stopped, gasping with pain as blood ran down her arms from where the cords bit into her wrists. Weeping with despair, Valeria looked up as a flash of lightning arched from the churning cloud now filling half the sky. Several seconds later the thunder struck, slamming into Valeria like a blow. Valeria sagged in defeat as bitter tears were swept from her face from the howling wind. Valeria knew it was over, and there was nothing she could do to stop the coming apocalypse.

_You're wrong. _A familiar voice suddenly whispered.

"Ronnie?" Valeria gasped, even though her rational mind knew it was impossible that her friend could be speaking to her.

_There's one thing left. _Veronica's voice continued. _The one thing you won't do because it terrifies you._

"No!" Valeria cried, shaking her head in denial.

_There's a darkness inside you Val. It's saved you countless times, but each time you pulled back. You're afraid that the beast is the real you, and the scared girl from the Vault is just a lie you told yourself over and over until you believed it._

"I can't Ronnie!" Valeria screamed.

_Then it's over. _Veronica said as her voice vanished into the roar of the wind as another spear of lighting blasted overhead. This time the boom of thunder was almost instantaneous, nearly knocking Valeria senseless with its fury. Her skin began to burn as a mist of dust and powdered glass hissed over her as the cloud of airborne debris covered the sky. Valeria frantically tore at her bonds as a cloud the color of dried blood roared toward her like an avalanche, luridly lit by blazing static discharges. Valeria looked into the mouth of hell and screamed as the storm slammed into the ridge and the sky went black.


	12. Chapter 12

The Marked Men feared nothing except the winds that created them. When the storms roared through the Divide the mutants took cover in the ruins, hiding in the dark until the choking clouds of ash and dust cleared. That was how they were found, clustered around dead fires isolated by the howling winds. Soon the Marked Men realized that something was hunting them, attacking from the choking darkness and vanishing before they could strike back. Fury overcame their fear and the mutants charged howling into the storm only to blunder about blinded in the darkness. One by one they fell as the mutants shot each other in their frenzied attempts to kill what was killing them. Finally the only sound was the roaring wind as the last Marked Man fell with a broken neck.

Valeria hunched over the corpse, glaring with fury at a massive steel door lit by flashes of lightning. Her fangs bared in a lipless snarl as her radiated flesh fought to heal her ravaged face. All she could think of through a red haze of pain and bloodlust was that her enemy was behind that door, and somehow she had to get through. For a moment she growled at the steel and concrete barrier, as if it was yet another opponent for her to tear apart. Then her eyes narrowed and she looked up at the jagged cliffs looming overhead...

Ulysses straightened from the monitor he'd been watching as an Eyebot scouted the Marked Men's camp. The monochrome images were distorted by static from the radiation in the crater, but he had seen enough. The Eyebot had already scouted the cliff where the prisoners were crucified, finding Valeria's cross empty and the ropes hanging like bloody streamers. The storms of the Divide were fearsome, with clouds of glass and sand particles able to strip flesh from bone in minutes. The storm just ending had been bad for the Divide, with the pounding of the wind discernible even in the depths of the Silo. Ulysses stared at the empty cross, and knew that somehow the mutant woman had survived. What the Eyebot showed in the bottom of the canyon confirmed it. The Marked Men had been attacked, possibly an hour earlier by something that used the storm as cover.

Ulysses jabbed the power button with his thumb and turned toward the only other two occupants of the room that once served as the Security Office. One was the Eyebot that had been his shadow ever since he had entered the Divide. The other was the corpse of a General slumped in the only chair, his body mummified in the radiated air. The insignia on his green coat declared his rank, and the name "Martin Restslaf". The empty bottle of whiskey and the pistol laying nearby clearly described the General's last moments when his duty ended in an atomic holocaust. Although Ulysses used the General's terminal, he made no effort to move the body. He had no respect for those who ordered the deaths of others and refused to face the consequences. To him, the General was just a sign of the moral decay that had destroyed the dream that was old America.

Ulysses stepped around the circular steel desk and strode across the darkened room, avoiding the loops of cable hanging from the ceiling. The floor was slanted, as they all were due to foundation damage from the earthquake that created the Divide. With the Eyebot floating behind him, Ulysses stepped out of the office to a landing inside the last functioning silo in Ashton. The silo had been built stronger than the others to protect the prototype missile that was now towering above him. With the aid of the eyebots, Ulysses had accessed files about the ancient weapon, and learned that it was meant to revolutionize America's nuclear capability. Instead of carrying one warhead, the massive device had twelve independently targeted devices, more than enough to end the NCR, the Legion, and House. As fortune would have it, the missile was one of the few in the Divide not sealed underground by tons of debris. Once Ulysses entered the silo, other Eyebots awoke and responded to the symbol he wore. At his direction, the robots had begun working to repair and reprogram the weapon.

The repairs took time, but Ulysses was patient. He had announced his intentions to all the flags in the Mojave through words and deeds. Vera and her Marked Men served notice to House that the end was coming. The holotapes he had left at his Ranch was all the warning the Legion would have, and the missile he used to open Ashton was ample warning to the NCR. He had seen no sign of House or the Legion, but the NCR surprised him with an unexpectedly rapid response. It was not nearly enough, but the soldiers and rangers fought bravely before they died, and Ulysses respected duty. It was the reason he intervened and allowed one trooper to survive after showing the soldier the symbol he wore on his jacket. If the soldier made it back, the NCR would know what they faced, even if they didn't know why.

And then there was the mutant who made it to Ashton in the name of her twin Vera. Ulysses hadn't expected that, but he still left her to be consumed by the Divide. However it now appeared that against all odds she had survived and wreaked vengeance upon the Marked Men. It was possible their destruction was caused by Deathclaws, but Ulysses had seen more signs of strategy than the bestial mutants were capable of. Whatever had killed the Marked Men used the storm as cover to negate their advantage in numbers and weapons. So if it was...Valeria, where was she now? Ulysses stepped up to the railing of the catwalk circling the silo and looked toward the base of the rocket two stores below. It was possible she had been wounded and died somewhere in the ruins, but Ulysses felt in his bones that the mutant had survived.

However it no longer mattered. The Silo only had one entrance, a durasteel alloy blast door that was once a tunnel access. When the canyon was torn out of the earth, the tunnel became a door at the base of a jagged cliff over two-hundred feet high. Made of six-inch thick pre-war steel, there was no weapon in the Mojave that could penetrate it. All the same, Ulysses decided that he had waited long enough. The missile was ready to launch, with the diligent robots mostly repairing cosmetic damage. The powers of the Mojave had their chance to fight for survival, now it was time to give History his answer before the storms sealed the silo.

"Start the launch." Ulysses rumbled to the robot behind him. The Eyebot responded with a series of beeps which the other robots floating further above answered. There was a moment of stillness and then alarms began to echo around him. Ulysses tightened the fastenings on his breathing mask, and then checked the heavy Bowie knife and plasma grenades under his coat. A rumbling vibration began to shake the platform as the silo doors far above began to grind open, showering the missile with clouds of dust. Ulysses unslung his Kriss submachinegun and looked up at the stars visible around the nosecone. Soon the missile would launch, and the other slumbering giants would detonate in their silos, destroying the base and removing its threat from history once and for all.

Ulysses turned toward the stairs to the next level when there was a crash, as if something heavy had fallen on one of the walkways above. Ulysses whirled and raised the Kriss as light flashed overhead and an Eyebot fell spinning into the silo trailing a shower of sparks. Another Eyebot swooped toward the walkway,from it's arc-welder sizzling as Ulysses ran along the catwalk, angling to see their attacker. Just as looked up, there was an inhuman shriek and an explosion of light as the Eyebot blew apart as it was swatted into a wall. Ulysses looked away to avoid being blinded, and looked back in time to meet the blazing white eyes of the mutant Valeria. Ulysses hesitated for an instant at the realization that the giant woman had done the impossible and scaled the cliff. As soon as the doors opened over the warhead, she had leaped over forty feet to the catwalk below.

Valeria leaped again as a blast of fifty caliber slugs shredded the air where she was standing. Ulysses lunged aside as she hurtled through the air and slammed into the catwalk, buckling it with a shriek of tearing metal. Ulysses tumbled into a crouch and fired as Valeria flung her armored forearms over her face and abdomen, screaming in fury as some of the hail of mushrooming lead hit flesh. Then the Kriss fell silent and before Ulysses could replace the clip Valeria leaped forward and slapped the gun from his hand. Ulysses ducked a savage back swing and slashed his knife at the mutant's abdomen. Valeria twisted to the side and hit the Frumentarius with an uppercut that flung him through the air. Ulysses hit hard but managed to roll to his feet as his lungs struggled to draw air. His armor had saved him from the mutant's blow, and he reached for a grenade as Valeria ripped his knife out of her side and charged screaming, oblivious to the bloody wound. Ulysses tried to leap clear as he activated the grenade but Valeria moved with blinding speed, seizing the grenade and crushing his fist as they both hurtled against a wall.

Ulysses armor cracked from the impact, and blood flooded his mouth as the pain of broken ribs exploded through him, followed by another blast of agony as Valeria rammed the knife into his stomach. Ulysses gagged blood as Valeria's eyes burned into his, and then a roar shook the silo as fire sheeted up behind them. Valeria whirled and saw the missile slowly begin to rise as another roar blasted the silo like a thunderclap.

"Now it...ends." Ulysses gasped as he saw the missile launch, knowing Valeria was too late to stop it. Without hesitating, the giant mutant jerked the knife from Ulysses' body and wrenched the grenade from his shattered fingers. Ulysses sagged helpless to the floor as Valeria ran at the missile and hurled herself through the air to vanish through a wall of fire. Ulysses was the only witness to Valeria's last desperate act before the rocket roared past, vaporizing the Frumentarius in one searing blast.

Valeria screamed in agony as she clung to the knife driven into the side of the missile. The terrible heat lessened when it left the silo, but was replaced by a colossal roar as the wind battered and tore at her. Nearly blinded by pain, Valeria forced her streaming eyes open and saw the panel where she had rammed the knife was beginning to peel away from the rocket. With her strength failing and only seconds to act, Valeria drove the grenade in her fist through the revealed hole just as the panel ripped free and the wind flung her into space. Valeria tumbled through the air, barely conscious as the roar of the rocket grew fainter, and then there was a roar and a blinding flash. Valeria was only faintly aware of the explosion when the shockwave hit and smashed her into darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

Shafts of morning sunlight shone through the boarded up windows of the Mojave Barracks as Veronica absently sipped from a glass of murky water. She sat at a table in a corner, her presence only eliciting a few glances from passing NCR soldiers. She stared at the dust drifting though a sunbeam as she absently ran her fingers along one of the scars on her chin and reflected on the past weeks events.

She had returned to Camp Forlorn Hope, furious and heart-broken. She knew she was slowing Valeria down, but it still hurt terribly when she had been left without even a good-bye. After a cursory interrogation by Major Polatil, she had been largely ignored by the garrison as she started a lonely vigil from the roof of the headquarters. Veronica didn't know what she was looking for, only that she couldn't leave with her friend somewhere in that hellish place. Later when the storm struck, Veronica waited to the last second before taking cover from its fury, and as soon as it began to subside she returned to her self-appointed post. Because of her determination, Veronica was the only one in the outpost who saw a streak of fire arcing through the sky to the east.

Veronica had stared in numb horror at what she was certain was a missile launch. The imminent deaths of thousands chilled her soul almost as much as the realization that for all her inhuman ability and determination, Valeria had failed to stop Ulysses. Then there was a flash as a cloud of fire appeared in the sky, drawing shouts from the NCR soldiers as they emerged from dugouts and bunkers. Veronica shielded her eyes from the wind as she stared at the fading explosion with a wild surge of hope. The missile had detonated too far from any population centers to have been deliberate, something had gone wrong with Ulysses' plans and Veronica was certain Valeria was still alive. But then the ground began to shake as a colossal roar began to drown out the moan of the wind, and Veronica leaped from the roof just before the first shock-wave hit the outpost.

The ground shook and convulsed as giant freeway arches and gutted skyscrapers began to topple to the ground, the roars of their destruction adding to the chaos. It seemed to last for an eternity, and then stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Veronica and the surviving soldiers began to crawl shakily to their feet as debris rained down from the suddenly pitch-black sky. Some lights were found and their beams cut through the choking darkness as Major Polatil emerged from the ruins of his headquarters, his face pale and bloodied as he began shouting orders to find survivors. They had barely begun to move through the rubble when Richards, the camp physician ran toward them, his face ashen in their lights.

"Radiation levels are climbing!" He had gasped as he held up a portable Geiger counter, its needle waving wildly as it crackled its warning. "If we don't leave now, we're all dead!"

Major Polatil had stared grimly at the battered survivors, and then ordered them to grab any supplies they could and head for the canyon, leaving their comrades still crying for help from the ruins. Veronica still shuddered at the memory of their grim march out of the Divide. They had to climb over masses of rubble in almost total darkness as they fought to escape the invisible fires that now raged over what was left of Hopeville. Veronica limped numbly along with the soldiers, almost not caring if she didn't make it out. Nothing could have survived the cataclysm she had witnessed, and she knew that once again she was alone.

Veronica didn't remember much of the journey through the dark, except that she couldn't stop tears from filling her eyes as she remembered everything she had grown to love about Valeria. The terrible sadness in her strange white eyes, her awkward smile as she tried to grin without exposing her fangs, and her incongruous blushes when she was embarrassed. She also remembered the warmth of Valeria's protective embrace, and desperately yearned for it again as black clouds churned and roared overhead.

The sun was starting to rise over the mountains when the exhausted survivors emerged from the canyon wreckage to face the glowing monitors and raised guns of House's Securitrons. There was a tense moment as one of the robots demanded they identify themselves before the Securitrons opened fire. Major Polatil limped forward and glared up into the Robot's glowering image.

"Major Polatil of the NCR." He growled, his voice hoarse with exhaustion.

"You are in violation of House's directive against NCR troop concentrations greater than platoon strength." The Securitron blared in its electronic monotone.

"The Divide was not in House's territory." The Major replied wearily. "And unless you plan to kill us now, we intend to leave the Mojave."

There was a tense moment as the securitrons stood motionless except for their antennas which were rotating rapidly as they received new orders.

"You will be escorted to the border." The robot finally intoned. "Any failure to comply will result in termination."

And so the battered remnants of Camp Forlorn Hope arrived at the Mojave Outpost. Veronica had stayed at the barracks with the other survivors, too exhausted to care if the NCR came for her or not. However, several days passed and no-one asked her any questions or even paid her much attention. As she recovered, news began to arrive about what had happened outside the Divide. The NCR was on high alert after the second missile detonated in the sky over the Sierra Nevadas. The levels of radiation traveling on the westerly winds had increased, but for the most part the cataclysm that tore the Divide apart a second time seemed to be contained. There were rumors that parties of ghoul rangers tried to explore the radiated devastation, but returned to report that nothing was left and the Divide was now completely impassable.

Veronica's meager store of caps was almost exhausted, and morning found her sipping water and trying to decide what to do next. All she had planned to do was travel with Valeria and slowly coax her out of the emotional shell she had built around herself. Valeria had never spoken much about herself, but her eyes always spoke of pain and loss. Veronica was no stranger to either, and she had yearned for the chance to find some happiness as they tentatively explored their relationship. But thanks to Ulysses, that opportunity was gone forever. Veronica sniffed as tears began to well in her eyes again. Even now, the pain she felt when Valeria left was still strong, and she couldn't stop remembering the last time they had been together when she had fallen asleep in Valeria's arms.

"I'm telling you, it's true." A voice behind her said in a low voice. Veronica started as she realized that two Caravaners had taken the table behind her while she was lost in thought.

"So what was the NCR doing at Momo Lake?" The caravaner's companion asked dubiously.

"You've heard the rumors." The first speaker replied. "There's unexploded nukes all over the Sierra's. My cousin works at Fort Norton and heard the Rangers talking."

"I heard they went up there to put Black Tom and his gang out of business." The second speaker objected.

"That's the official line." Replied the first as he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "But the rangers said the gang was already dead when they got there. There was brass all over the place but nothing else but dead raiders." Then the caravaner's voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "And whatever it was that killed them drank their blood."

"That could have been anything." The second speaker replied with a snort as Veronica straightened in her chair. "Ghouls, Deathclaws, Hell even Supermutants."

"Then why were the slaves still alive?" The first speaker asked smugly. "Black Tom kept them in a pen. Not only were they alive, they'd been let out. The rangers said all they could get out of the captives was that it was too dark to see much, but the raiders were taken out by something big that walked like a man."

There was a scrape of a chair being pushed back, and both Caravaners turned to see a woman in a dark robe and hood walking quickly for the door. With a shrug of indifference, they returned to their drinks as Veronica pushed the doors open and stepped outside.

Veronica looked up at the blue vault of the sky and restrained the urge to jump for joy. The story she had just heard might have been just a wild rumor, but she couldn't accept that. Somehow Valeria had survived the inferno of the Divide, and was somewhere in NCR territory. The groans and bellows of pack Brahmin drew her attention to the chain-link enclosure on the other side of the decaying freeway where caravans kept their teams for the night. Traffic to the Mojave had increased now that Calhoun's train was working. Independent traders could now stop at Nipton to unload their goods, cutting their travel time in half much to the dismay of the Crimson Caravan Company. Travelers were also increasing in number as they willingly paid the fare for swift and secure transport to New Vegas under the watchful eye of Talon Company. Despite the Mercenaries' fearsome reputation, word of the stand at Nipton had gotten around and they were now regarded as heroes. Travelers also found human faces more reassuring than the cold impassivity of House's Securitrons. An economic boom seemed to be in the making in the Mojave, and Veronica knew it wouldn't be difficult to find a caravan heading back to California.

Veronica stopped and turned toward the west, with the first smile she'd enjoyed in days. A seeming eternity ago she had allowed love to escape by choosing duty first. Now she was free to follow her heart and find Valeria...

...and their lonesome road would finally end.


End file.
